1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because Yhwh hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

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.

2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The donkeys which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the donkeys, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

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?’

3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee 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:

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.

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

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

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 company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

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.

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

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

7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

After these signs have happened, do what you need 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 to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

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.”

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.

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

10 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.

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.

11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among 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?

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?”

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

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

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

After Saul had finished prophesying, he went 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 donkeys: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

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.”

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

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

16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

“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.

17 And Samuel called the people together unto Yhwh to Mizpeh;

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

18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith Yhwh 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 kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

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.

19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Yhwh by your tribes, and by your thousands.

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.”

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

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

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

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.

22 Therefore they enquired of Yhwh further, if the man should yet come thither. And Yhwh answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

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

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

24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Yhwh hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

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!”

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

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.

26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

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

27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

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.