1 Samuel 10

1 And Samuel took a little vial of oil and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: Behold, the Lord hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance, and thou shalt deliver his people out of the hands of their enemies, that are round about them. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that God hath anointed thee to be prince.

Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Hasn’t Yahweh anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?

2 When thou shalt depart from me this day, thou shalt find two men by the sepulchre of Rachel in the borders of Benjamin to the south, and they shall say to thee: The asses are found which thou wentest to seek: and thy father thinking no more of the asses is concerned for you, and saith: What shall I do for my son?

When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found; and behold, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”’

3 And when thou shalt depart from thence, and go farther on, and shalt come to the oak of Thabor, there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.

“Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.

4 And they will salute thee, and will give thee two loaves, and thou shalt take them at their hand.

They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hand.

5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is: and when thou shalt be come there into the city, thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place, with a psaltery and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp before them, and they shall be prophesying.

“After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp 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 changed into another man.

Then Yahweh’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.

7 When therefore these signs shall happen to thee, do whatsoever thy hand shall find, for the Lord is with thee.

Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you.

8 And thou shalt go down before me to Galgal, (for I will come down to thee, ) that thou mayest offer an oblation, and sacrifice victims of peace: seven days shalt thou wait, O till I come to thee, and I will shew thee what thou art to do.

“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

9 So when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave unto him another heart, and all these things came to pass that day.

It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day.

10 And they came to the foresaid hill, and behold a company of prophets met him: and the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them.

When they came there to the hill, behold, 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 yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and prophesied, said to each other: What is this that hath happened to the son of Cis? Is Saul also among the prophets?

When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

12 And one answered another, saying: And who is their father? therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?

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

13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 And Saul’s uncle said to him, and to his servant: Whither went you? They answered: To seek the asses: and not finding them we went to Samuel.

Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.”

15 And his uncle said to him: Tell me what Samuel said to thee.

Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 And Saul said to his uncle: He told us that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken to him, 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, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him.

17 And Samuel called together the people to the Lord in Maspha:

Samuel called the people together to Yahweh to Mizpah;

18 And he said to the children of Israel: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you.

and he said to the children of Israel, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says ‘I brought Israel up 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 But you this day have rejected your God, who only hath saved you out of all your evils and your tribulations: and you have said: Nay: but set a king over us. Now therefore stand before the Lord by your tribes, and by your families.

But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your thousands.”

20 And Samuel brought to him all the tribes of Israel, and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin.

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

21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin and the kindreds thereof, and the lot fell Upon the kindred of Metri, and it came to Saul the son of Cis. They sought him therefore and he was not found.

He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen; but when they looked for him, he could not be found.

22 And after this they consulted the Lord whether he would come thither. And the Lord answered: Behold he is hidden at home.

Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” Yahweh answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and he stood in the midst of the people, and he was higher than any of the people from the shoulders and upward.

They ran and got him there. 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: Surely you see him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people cried and said: God save the king.

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” All the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

25 And Samuel told the people the law of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord: and Samuel sent away all the people, every one to his own house.

Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26 Saul also departed to his own house in Gabaa: and there went with him a part of the army, whose hearts God had touched.

Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched.

27 But the children of Belial said: Shall this fellow be able to save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents, but he dissembled as though he heard not.

But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no tribute. But he held his peace.