32 The people rushed greedily upon the spoil , and took sheep and oxen and calves e , and slew them on the ground ; and the people ate them with the blood . 33 Then they told Saul , saying , "Behold , the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood ." And he said , "You have acted treacherously ; roll a great stone to me today ." 34 Saul said , "Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, 'Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep , and slaughter it here and eat ; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood .' " So all the people that night brought each one his ox with him and slaughtered it there .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 14:32-34
Commentary on 1 Samuel 14:24-35
(Read 1 Samuel 14:24-35)
Saul's severe order was very unwise; if it gained time, it lost strength for the pursuit. Such is the nature of our bodies, that daily work cannot be done without daily bread, which therefore our Father in heaven graciously gives. Saul was turning aside from God, and now he begins to build altars, being then most zealous, as many are, for the form of godliness when he was denying the power of it.