1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head, and kissed him, saying, “The Lord has anointed you as ruler of his chosen people.

Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because Jehovah has anointed thee prince over his inheritance?

2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb in Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father isn't concerned about them but is worried about you. He's wondering, ‘What about my son?’

When thou goest from me to-day, thou shalt meet two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to thee, The asses are found which thou wentest to seek, and behold, thy father has dismissed the matter of the asses, and is anxious about you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

3 You will leave there and go on to the oak at Tabor where you will meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine.

And thou shalt go on forward from thence, and shalt come to the oak of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God, to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three cakes of bread, and another carrying a flask of wine.

4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you should take.

And they will ask after thy welfare, and give thee two loaves, which thou shalt receive of their hands.

5 Next you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have a garrison. As you come into town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place led by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where are the outposts of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou comest thither, into the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with lute and tambour and pipe and harp before them; and they themselves prophesying.

6 The Spirit of the Lord will come on you with power. You will prophesy with them, and you will become a different man.

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

7 After these signs have happened, do what you need to do, for God is with you.

And it shall be, when these signs shall come to thee, thou shalt do as thy hand shall find; for God is with thee.

8 Then go ahead of me to Gilgal. I assure you I will come and join you to present burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Wait there seven days until I come to you, and let you know what you should do.”

And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to thee, to offer up burnt-offerings, [and] to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou wait, until I come to thee and inform thee what thou shalt do.

9 The moment Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave Saul a different way of thinking, and all the signs were fulfilled that day.

And it was [so] that when he turned his back to go away from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.

10 When Saul and his servant arrived in Gibeah, there was a procession of prophets coming out to meet them, the Spirit of God came on Saul with power, and he also started to prophesy with them.

And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11 Everyone who had used to know Saul and saw him prophesying with the prophets said to each other, “What's going on with the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets too?”

And it came to pass, when all that knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

12 A man living there responded, “But who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”

And a man of that place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

13 After Saul had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

And when he had ended prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 Saul's uncle asked Saul and his servant, “Where have you been?” “We were looking for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we couldn't find them we went to Samuel.”

And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were nowhere, we went to Samuel.

15 “Please tell me what he said to you,” Saul's uncle asked.

And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you.

16 “He promised us the donkeys had been found,” Saul replied. But Saul didn't tell his uncle what Samuel had said about him becoming king.

And Saul said to his uncle, He told us for certain that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he told him not.

17 Samuel called the people of Israel to come before the Lord at Mizpah.

And Samuel called the people together to Jehovah to Mizpah.

18 He told the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I led Israel out of Egypt, and I saved you from the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.

And he said to the children of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you;

19 But now you have rejected your God, the one who saves you from all your troubles and disasters. You told him, ‘You must appoint a king to rule us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”

but ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your troubles, and have said unto him, [Nay, ] but a king shalt thou set over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands.

20 Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.

And Samuel caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its family groups, and the family group of Matri was chosen. Lastly, Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But when they looked for him, he couldn't be found.

And he caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, and the family of Matri was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they sought him, but he was not to be found.

22 So they asked the Lord, “Has he arrived here yet?” The Lord replied, “Go and look—he's hiding among the baggage.”

Therefore they inquired of Jehovah further, Will the man yet come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.

23 They ran and brought Saul over. When he stood among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else.

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

24 Samuel said to everyone, “Can you see the one the Lord has chosen? There's no one like him anywhere!” All the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted and said, May the king live.

25 Then Samuel explained to the people all that a king would do. He wrote it down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent everyone home.

And Samuel told the people the right of the kingdom, and wrote it in the book, and laid it before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26 Saul also returned to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by warriors who God had encouraged to help him.

And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and with him went the band, whose hearts God had touched.

27 But some obnoxious men asked, “How could this man save us?” They hated him and didn't bring him any gifts; but Saul did not retaliate.

But the children of Belial said, How should this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no gifts. But he was as one deaf.