Kings I 10

1 And Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured [it] on his head, and kissed him, and said to him, Has not the Lord anointed thee for a ruler over his people, over Israel? and thou shalt rule among the people of the Lord, and thou shalt save them out of the hand of their enemies; and this [shall be] the sign to thee that the Lord has anointed thee for a ruler over his inheritance.

Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be ruler over his people Israel? And you shall rule over the people of the LORD, and you shall save them out of the hand of their enemies all around. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance.

2 [As soon] as thou shalt have departed this day from me, thou shalt find two men by the burial-place of Rachel on the mount of Benjamin, exulting greatly; and they shall say to thee, The asses are found which ye went to seek; and, behold, thy father has given up the matter of the asses, and he is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

When you have departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb, in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will tell you, 'The donkeys which you went to seek have been found; and look, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"'

3 And thou shalt depart thence, and shalt go beyond that as far as the oak of Thabor, and thou shalt find there three men going up to God to Baethel, one bearing three kids, and another bearing three vessels of bread, and another bearing a bottle of wine.

Then you will go on further from there and you will come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One will be carrying three young goats, and another carrying three containers of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.

4 And they shall ask thee how thou doest, and shall give thee two presents of bread, and thou shall receive them of their hand.

And they will greet you and give you two wave offerings of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.

5 And afterward thou shalt go to the hill of God, where is the encampment of the Philistines; there [is] Nasib the Philistine: an it shall come to pass when ye shall have entered into the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the Bama; and before them will be lutes, and a drum, and a pipe, and a harp, and they shall prophesy.

After that you shall come to Gibeath Elohim, where the Philistine garrison is. And it shall happen, when you have come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with harps, and tambourines, and flutes, and lyres before them, and they will be prophesying.

6 And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

And the Spirit of the LORD will come mightily on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be transformed into a different person.

7 And it shall come to pass when these signs shall come upon thee, —[then] do thou whatsoever thy hand shall find, because God [is] with thee.

And let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

8 And thou shalt go down in front of Galgal, and behold, I come down to thee to offer a whole-burnt-offering and peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou wait until I shall come to thee, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do.

You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and look, I will come down to you, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: you shall wait seven days, until I come to you, and show you what you shall do."

9 And it came to pass when he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs came to pass in that day.

When he had turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart, and all these signs came to pass that day.

10 And he comes thence to the hill, and behold a band of prophets opposite to him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them.

And he went from there to Gibeah, and look, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.

11 And all that had known him before came, and saw, and behold, he [was] in the midst of the prophets: and the people said every one to his neighbour, What [is] this that has happened to the son of Kis? [is] Saul also among the prophets?

It happened, when all who knew him before saw that, look, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, "What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

12 And one of them answered and said, And who [is] his father? and therefore it became a proverb, [Is] Saul also among the prophets?

One of the same place answered, "Who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

13 And he ceased prophesying, and comes to the hill.

And when he had finished prophesying, and went home,

14 And his kinsman said to him and to his servant, Whither went ye? and they said, To seek the asses; and we saw that they were lost, and we went in to Samuel.

then his uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we went to Samuel."

15 And his kinsman said to Saul, Tell me, I pray thee, What did Samuel say to thee?

Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."

16 And Saul said to his kinsman, he verily told me that the asses were found. But the matter of the kingdom he told him not.

Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys were found." But concerning the matter of the kingdom he did not tell him.

17 And Samuel summoned all the people before the Lord to Massephath.

Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah;

18 And he said to the children of Israel, Thus has the Lord God of Israel spoken, saying, I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you out of the hand of Pharao king of Egypt, and out of all the kingdoms that afflicted you.

and he said to the children of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you:'

19 And ye have this day rejected God, who is himself your Deliverer out of all your evils and afflictions; and ye said, Nay, but thou shalt set a king over us: and now stand before the Lord according to your tribes, and according to your families.

but you have this day rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, 'No. Set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands."

20 And Samuel brought nigh all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is taken by lot.

So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 And he brings near the tribe of Benjamin by families, and the family of Mattari is taken by lot: and they bring near the family of Mattari, man by man, and Saul the son of Kis is taken; and he sought him, but he was not found.

He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families, and the family of the Matrites was taken. And he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he could not be found.

22 And Samuel asked yet again of the Lord, Will the man come hither? and the Lord said, Behold, he is hid among the stuff.

Therefore they asked of the LORD further, "Is there a man yet to come here?" The LORD answered, "Look, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

23 And he ran and took him thence, and he set him in the midst of the people; and he was higher than all the people by his shoulders and upwards.

They ran and fetched him there; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, Have ye seen whom the Lord has chosen to himself, that there is none like to him among you all? And all the people took notice, and said, Let the king live!

Samuel said to all the people, "You see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" All the people shouted, and said, "Let the king live."

25 And Samuel told the people the manner of the king, and wrote it in a book, and set it before the Lord: and Samuel sent away all the people, and each went to his place.

Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it on a scroll, and laid it up before the LORD. Samuel sent all the people away, every man went to his place

26 And Saul departed to his house to Gabaa; and there went with Saul mighty men whose hearts God had touched.

Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the valient men, whose hearts the LORD had touched.

27 But evil men said, Who [is] this man [that] shall save us? and they despised him, and brought him no gifts.

But certain worthless fellows said, "How shall this man save us?" So they despised him, and brought him no present. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was severely oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He put out the right eye of all of them, and he would not allow anyone to rescue Israel. Not one was left of the children of Israel beyond the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, did not put out, except for seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and went to Jabesh Gilead.