1 Samuel 10

1 And Samuel took a flask of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Behold, it is because the Lord hath anointed thee over his inheritance as chief.

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 goest this day away from me, thou wilt find two men who are now by Rachel's sepulchre, on the boundary of Benjamin at Zelzach; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath given up the matter of the asses, and is anxious for 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 there, and thou shalt come as far as the grove 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:

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 ask thee after thy welfare, and give thee two loaves of bread, which thou must take from their hand.

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

5 After that shalt thou come to the hill of God, where the outposts of the Philistines are; and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou wilt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high-place, having before them a psaltery, and a tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp; 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 suddenly come over thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and thou shalt be changed 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 it shall be, that, when these signs are come unto thee, then do thou what thy hand may be able to effect; 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 to thee, and then will I 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 happened, that, as he turned his back to go away from Samuel, God changed his heart into another; and all these signs came to pass on that same 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 company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came suddenly over him, and he prophesied in the midst of 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 before saw, that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then said the people one to another, What is this that hath happened to 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 that 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 were ye gone? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were nowhere, we went 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, Do tell me, I pray thee, what did Samuel say 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 had been found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel had spoken, 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 hath said the Lord the God of Israel, I brought up Israel from Egypt, and 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 And ye for your part have this day rejected your God, he who hath saved you out of all your misfortunes and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nevertheless, thou must set a king over us: and now present yourselves before the Lord according to your tribes, and according to 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 And Samuel caused all the tribes of Israel to come near; and the tribe of Benjamin was seized.

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

21 And he caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near according to its families, and the family of Matri was seized, and then was seized Saul the son of Kish: and they sought him, but 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 And they inquired again of the Lord, Is the man yet come hither? And the Lord said, Behold, he hath hidden himself among the vessels.

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 he placed himself erect in the midst of the people, and 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, Have ye seen him whom the Lord hath made choice of, 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 did Samuel speak to the people the rights of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it down before the Lord. And Samuel sent away all the people, 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 home to Gib'ah; and there went with him a large crowd, whose heart 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 the worthless men said, In what can this help us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he acted as though he were deaf.

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.