1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

Then Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it on his head. And he kissed him, and said: “Behold, the Lord has anointed you as first ruler over his inheritance. And you shall free his people from the hands of their enemies, who are all around them. And this shall be a sign for you that God has anointed you as ruler:

2 When you have gone away from me today, you will see two men by the resting-place of Rachel's body, in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went in search of have come back, and now your father, caring no longer for the asses, is troubled about you, saying, What am I to do about my son?

When you will have departed from me this day, you will find two men beside the sepulcher of Rachel, in the parts of Benjamin to the south. And they will say to you: ‘The donkeys have been found, which you had been seeking as you traveled. And your father, forgetting about the donkeys, has been anxious for you, and he says, “What shall I do about my son?”’

3 Then you are to go on from there, and when you come to the oak-tree of Tabor, you will see three men going up to God to Beth-el, one having with him three young goats and another three cakes of bread and another a skin full of wine:

And when you will have departed from there, and will have traveled farther, and will have arrived at the oak of Tabor, in that place three men, who are going up to God at Bethel, will find you. One will be bringing three young goats, and another three loaves of bread, and another will be carrying a bottle of wine.

4 They will say, Peace be with you, and will give you two cakes of bread, which you are to take from them.

And when they will have greeted you, they will give you two loaves. And you shall accept these from their hand.

5 After that you will come to Gibeah, the hill of God, where an armed force of the Philistines is stationed: and when you come to the town, you will see a band of prophets coming down from the high place with instruments of music before them; and they will be acting like prophets:

After these things, you shall arrive at the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. And when you will have entered the city there, you will meet a company of prophets, descending from the high place, with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp before them, and they will be prophesying.

6 And the spirit of the Lord will come on you with power, and you will be acting like a prophet with them, and will be changed into another man.

And the Spirit of the Lord will spring up within you. And you shall prophesy with them, and you shall be changed into another man.

7 And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; for God is with you.

Therefore, when these signs will have happened to you, do whatever your hand will find, for the Lord is with you.

8 Then you are to go down before me to Gilgal, where I will come to you, for the offering of burned offerings and peace-offerings: go on waiting there for seven days till I come to you and make clear to you what you have to do.

And you shall descend before me into Gilgal, (for I will descend to you), so that you may offer an oblation, and may immolate victims of peace. For seven days, you shall wait, until I come to you, and reveal to you what you should do.”

9 And it came about, that when he went away from Samuel, God gave him a changed heart: and all those signs took place that day.

And so, when he had turned his shoulder, so that he might go away from Samuel, God changed him to another heart. And all these signs occurred on that day.

10 And when they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets came face to face with him; and the spirit of God came on him with power and he took his place among them as a prophet.

And they arrived at the above-stated hill, and behold, a group of prophets met him. And the Spirit of the Lord leapt up within him, and he prophesied in their midst.

11 Now when Saul's old friends saw him among the band of prophets, the people said to one another, What has come to Saul, the son of Kish? Is even Saul among the prophets?

Then all those who had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and that he was prophesying, said to one other: “What is this thing that has happened to the son of Kish? Could Saul also be among the prophets?”

12 And one of the people of that place said in answer, And who is their father? So it became a common saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?

And one would respond to the other, saying, “And who is their father?” Because of this, it turned into a proverb, “Could Saul also be among the prophets?”

13 Then going away from the prophets, he came to the house.

Then he ceased to prophesy, and he went to the high place.

14 And Saul's father's brother said to him and his servant, Where have you been? And he said, Searching for the asses: and when we saw no sign of them, we came to Samuel.

And the uncle of Saul said to him, and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And they responded: “To seek the donkeys. But when we did not find them, we went to Samuel.”

15 Then he said, And what did Samuel say to you?

And his uncle said to him, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 And Saul, answering him, said, He gave us word that the asses had come back. But he said nothing to him of Samuel's words about the kingdom.

And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us that the donkeys would be found.” But the word about the kingdom, which Samuel had spoken to him, he did not reveal to him.

17 Then Samuel sent for the people to come together before the Lord at Mizpah;

And Samuel called the people together, to the Lord at Mizpah.

18 And he said to the children of Israel, The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, I took Israel out of Egypt, and made you free from the hands of the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms which kept you down:

And he said to the sons of Israel: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I led Israel away from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who were afflicting you.

19 But today you are turned away from your God, who himself has been your saviour from all your troubles and sorrows; and you have said to him, Put a king over us. So now, take your places before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.

But today you have rejected your God, who alone saved you from all your evils and tribulations. And you have said: ‘By no means! Instead, appoint a king over us.’ Now therefore, stand in the sight of the Lord, by your tribes and by your families.”

20 So Samuel made all the tribes of Israel come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

And Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the lot fell upon the tribe of Benjamin.

21 Then he made the tribe of Benjamin come near by families, and the family of the Matrites was taken: and from them, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken: but when they went in search of him he was nowhere to be seen.

And he brought near the tribe of Benjamin, with its families, and the lot fell upon the family of Matri. And then it went to Saul, the son of Kish. Therefore, they sought him, but he was not found.

22 So they put another question to the Lord, Is the man present here? And the answer of the Lord was, He is keeping himself from view among the goods.

And after these things, they consulted the Lord as to whether he would soon arrive there. And the Lord responded, “Behold, he is hidden at home.”

23 So they went quickly and made him come out; and when he took his place among the people, he was taller by a head than any of the people.

And so they ran and brought him there. And he stood in the midst of the people, and he was taller than the entire people, from the shoulders upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man of the Lord's selection, how there is no other like him among all the people? And all the people with loud cries said, Long life to the king!

And Samuel said to all the people: “Certainly, you see the one whom the Lord has chosen, that there is not anyone like him among all the people.” And all the people cried out and said, “Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel gave the people the laws of the kingdom, writing them in a book which he put in a safe place before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

Then Samuel spoke to the people the law of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book, and he stored it in the sight of the Lord. And Samuel dismissed all the people, each one to his own house.

26 And Saul went to Gibeah, to his house; and with him went the men of war whose hearts had been touched by God.

And then Saul went away to his own house at Gibeah. And a portion of the army, whose hearts had been touched by God, went away with him.

27 But certain good-for-nothing persons said, How is this man to be our saviour? And having no respect for him, they gave him no offering.

Yet the sons of Belial said, “How could this one be able to save us?” And they despised him, and they brought him no presents. But he pretended not to hear them.