1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: 'Is it not that the LORD hath anointed thee to be prince over His inheritance?

Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul's head, and kissed him. He said, “Has not Yahweh anointed you to be a ruler over his inheritance?

2 When thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by the tomb of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee: The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious concerning you, saying: What shall I do for my son?

When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel's tomb, in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, 'The donkeys that you were looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, “What should I do about my son?”'

3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the terebinth of Tabor, and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.

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

4 And they will salute thee, and give thee two cakes of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hand.

They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will take from their hands.

5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines; and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying.

After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre before them; they will be prophesying.

6 And the spirit of the LORD will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

The Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into a different man.

7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as thy hand shall find; for God is with thee.

Now, when these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come unto thee, and tell thee what thou shalt do.'

Go down before me to Gilgal. Then I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you must do.”

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

When Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. Then all these signs came to pass that day.

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

When they came to the hill, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him so that he prophesied with them.

11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another: 'What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?'

When everyone who knew him before saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people said to each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets now?”

12 And one of the same place answered and said: 'And who is their father?' Therefore it became a proverb: 'Is Saul also among the prophets?'

A man who was from that same place answered, “Then who is their father?” Because of this, it became a saying, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?”

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

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

14 And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant: 'Whither went ye?' And he said: 'To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.'

Then Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” He replied, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that we could not find them, we went to Samuel.”

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

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

16 And Saul said unto his uncle: 'He told us plainly that the asses were found.' But concerning the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not.

Saul replied to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken.

17 And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpah.

Now Samuel called the people together before Yahweh at Mizpah.

18 And he said unto the children of Israel: 'Thus saith 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.

He said to the people of Israel, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.'

19 But ye have this day rejected your God, who Himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said unto Him: Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.'

But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all of your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, 'Set a king over us.' Now present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”

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

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

21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families, and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they sought him, he could not be found.

Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their clans; and the clan of the Matrites was chosen; and Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they went looking for him, he could not be found.

22 Therefore they asked of the LORD further: 'Is there yet a man come hither?' And the LORD answered: 'Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.'

Then the people wanted to ask God more questions, “Is there still another man to come?” Yahweh answered, “He has hidden himself among the baggage.”

23 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.

Then they ran and retrieved Saul from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people: 'See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?' And all the people shouted, and said: 'Long live the king.'

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

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

Then Samuel told the people the customs and rules of kingship, wrote them down in a book, and placed it before Yahweh. Samuel then sent all the people away, each man to his own house.

26 And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the men of valour, whose hearts God had touched.

Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went some strong men, whose hearts God had touched.

27 But certain base fellows said: 'How shall this man save us?' And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he was as one that held his peace.

But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” These people despised Saul and did not bring him any gifts. But Saul kept silent.