1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be ruler over his people Israel? And you shall rule over the people of the LORD, and you shall save them out of the hand of their enemies all around. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance.

Then Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it on his head. And he kissed him, and said: “Behold, the Lord has anointed you as first ruler over his inheritance. And you shall free his people from the hands of their enemies, who are all around them. And this shall be a sign for you that God has anointed you as ruler:

2 When you have departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb, in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will tell you, 'The donkeys which you went to seek have been found; and look, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"'

When you will have departed from me this day, you will find two men beside the sepulcher of Rachel, in the parts of Benjamin to the south. And they will say to you: ‘The donkeys have been found, which you had been seeking as you traveled. And your father, forgetting about the donkeys, has been anxious for you, and he says, “What shall I do about my son?”’

3 Then you will go on further from there and you will come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One will be carrying three young goats, and another carrying three containers of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.

And when you will have departed from there, and will have traveled farther, and will have arrived at the oak of Tabor, in that place three men, who are going up to God at Bethel, will find you. One will be bringing three young goats, and another three loaves of bread, and another will be carrying a bottle of wine.

4 And they will greet you and give you two wave offerings of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.

And when they will have greeted you, they will give you two loaves. And you shall accept these from their hand.

5 After that you shall come to Gibeath Elohim, where the Philistine garrison is. And it shall happen, when you have come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with harps, and tambourines, and flutes, and lyres before them, and they will be prophesying.

After these things, you shall arrive at the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. And when you will have entered the city there, you will meet a company of prophets, descending from the high place, with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp before them, and they will be prophesying.

6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come mightily on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be transformed into a different person.

And the Spirit of the Lord will spring up within you. And you shall prophesy with them, and you shall be changed into another man.

7 And let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

Therefore, when these signs will have happened to you, do whatever your hand will find, for the Lord is with you.

8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and look, I will come down to you, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: you shall wait seven days, until I come to you, and show you what you shall do."

And you shall descend before me into Gilgal, (for I will descend to you), so that you may offer an oblation, and may immolate victims of peace. For seven days, you shall wait, until I come to you, and reveal to you what you should do.”

9 When he had turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart, and all these signs came to pass that day.

And so, when he had turned his shoulder, so that he might go away from Samuel, God changed him to another heart. And all these signs occurred on that day.

10 And he went from there to Gibeah, and look, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.

And they arrived at the above-stated hill, and behold, a group of prophets met him. And the Spirit of the Lord leapt up within him, and he prophesied in their midst.

11 It happened, when all who knew him before saw that, look, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, "What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Then all those who had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and that he was prophesying, said to one other: “What is this thing that has happened to the son of Kish? Could Saul also be among the prophets?”

12 One of the same place answered, "Who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

And one would respond to the other, saying, “And who is their father?” Because of this, it turned into a proverb, “Could Saul also be among the prophets?”

13 And when he had finished prophesying, and went home,

Then he ceased to prophesy, and he went to the high place.

14 then his uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we went to Samuel."

And the uncle of Saul said to him, and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And they responded: “To seek the donkeys. But when we did not find them, we went to Samuel.”

15 Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."

And his uncle said to him, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the donkeys were found." But concerning the matter of the kingdom he did not tell him.

And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us that the donkeys would be found.” But the word about the kingdom, which Samuel had spoken to him, he did not reveal to him.

17 Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah;

And Samuel called the people together, to the Lord at Mizpah.

18 and he said to the children of Israel, "Thus says 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:'

And he said to the sons of Israel: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I led Israel away from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who were afflicting you.

19 but you have this day rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, 'No. 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 alone saved you from all your evils and tribulations. And you have said: ‘By no means! Instead, appoint a king over us.’ Now therefore, stand in the sight of the Lord, by your tribes and by your families.”

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

And Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the lot fell upon the tribe of Benjamin.

21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families, and the family of the Matrites was taken. And he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he could not be found.

And he brought near the tribe of Benjamin, with its families, and the lot fell upon the family of Matri. And then it went to Saul, the son of Kish. Therefore, they sought him, but he was not found.

22 Therefore they asked of the LORD further, "Is there a man yet to come here?" The LORD answered, "Look, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

And after these things, they consulted the Lord as to whether he would soon arrive there. And the Lord responded, “Behold, he is hidden at home.”

23 They ran and fetched him there; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

And so they ran and brought him there. And he stood in the midst of the people, and he was taller than the entire people, from the shoulders upward.

24 Samuel said to all the people, "You see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" All the people shouted, and said, "Let the king live."

And Samuel said to all the people: “Certainly, you see the one whom the Lord has chosen, that there is not anyone like him among all the people.” And all the people cried out and said, “Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it on a scroll, and laid it up before the LORD. Samuel sent all the people away, every man went to his place

Then Samuel spoke to the people the law of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book, and he stored it in the sight of the Lord. And Samuel dismissed all the people, each one to his own house.

26 Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the valient men, whose hearts the LORD had touched.

And then Saul went away to his own house at Gibeah. And a portion of the army, whose hearts had been touched by God, went away with him.

27 But certain worthless fellows said, "How shall this man save us?" So they despised him, and brought him no present. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was severely oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He put out the right eye of all of them, and he would not allow anyone to rescue Israel. Not one was left of the children of Israel beyond the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, did not put out, except for seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and went to Jabesh Gilead.

Yet the sons of Belial said, “How could this one be able to save us?” And they despised him, and they brought him no presents. But he pretended not to hear them.