So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, [even] against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking [counsel] of [one that had] a familiar spirit, to enquire [of it];
Ver. 13. So Saul died, &c.] This and the subsequent verse we have here about the causes of Saul's death, more than that we read in 1 Samuel 31:3,6 .; like as we meet with many remarkable passages in St Mark, that are not in Matthew or Luke.
For his transgression which he committed.] "Adding rebellion to sin," Job 34:37 for he was not so very bad at first, as neither is any wicked person. He first neglected the word of God, and then despised it, and then harboured in his heart hypocrisy, hatred, envy, cruelty, &c. Here he is taxed for three vices especially: (1.) For flat disobedience, which "is as the sin of witchcraft"; 1Sa 15:23 (2.) For consulting with a witch; (3.) For not inquiring of the Lord. He did not "draw nigh to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having his heart sprinkled from an evil conscience, and his body washed with pure water." Heb 10:22