וַיֹּ֣אמֶר חָטָ֔אתִי עַתָּ֗ה כַּבְּדֵ֥נִי נָ֛א נֶ֥גֶד זִקְנֵֽי־עַמִּ֖י וְנֶ֣גֶד יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְשׁ֣וּב עִמִּ֔י וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוֵ֖יתִי לַֽיהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃
[Saul] sprach: Ich habe gesündigt. Jetzt ehre mich doch vor den Ältesten meines Volkes und vor Israel und kehre mit mir zurück, dass ich mich bücke vor dem Herrn, deinem Gotte.
Sha'arei Kedusha
We find this about the great sage, Yeravam, that because he sought power, both he and his descendants were uprooted from this world, nor does he have a portion in the coming world. Similarly, when Shaul, the chosen one of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, began his reign, he was as pure as a one-year-old child who has never tasted sin.500Talmud Bavli, Yoma 22b Moreover, as the verse attests, when they sought to crown him as king,501Samuel I 10:22 “He hid amongst the baggage,” in that he fled from power. Nevertheless, he was ultimately caught in its net and pursued it, as he said to the Prophet Shmuel,502Samuel I 15:30 “Please honor me in the presence of the elders of my people.” In the end he lost the kingdom and he was killed along with three of his sons, as mentioned before in the section on envy.