1 Samuel 10

1 Then took Samuel a flask of oil, and poured out upon his head, and kissed him, —and said—Is it not, that Yahweh hath anointed thee over his inheritance, as leader?

Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

2 When thou departest, to-day, from me, then shalt thou find two men by the grave of Rachel, within the boundary of Benjamin, in Zelzah, —and they will say unto thee, The asses are found, which thou wentest to seek, and lo! thy father hath abandoned caring for the asses, and is concerned for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’

3 Then shalt thou pass on quickly from thence onwards, and come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there shall find thee there, three men going up unto God, at Bethel, —one, carrying three kids, and, another, carrying three cakes of bread, and, another, carrying a skin of wine;

Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up 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 then will they ask thee, of thy welfare, —and give thee two cakes of bread, which thou shalt receive at their hand.

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

5 After that, shalt thou come unto the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines, —and it shall be, as thou comest in thither into the city, thou shalt light upon a band of prophets, coming down from the high place, and, before them, a harp, and a timbrel, and a flute, and a lyre, they having been moved to prophesy.

After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

6 Then will come suddenly upon thee, the Spirit of Yahweh, and thou shalt be moved to prophesy with them, —and shalt be changed into another man.

Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.

7 And it shall be, when these signs shall come unto thee, then act thou for thyself, as thou shalt find occasion, for, God, is with thee.

When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.

8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal, for lo! I am coming down unto thee, to offer up ascending-offerings, to sacrifice peace-offerings, —seven days, shalt thou tarry, until I come unto thee, then will I let thee know what thou shalt do.

And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

9 And so it was, that, when he turned away to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart, —and all these signs came to pass that day.

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all the signs came to pass that day.

10 And, when they came thither to the hill, lo! a band of prophets coming to meet him, —then came suddenly upon him, the Spirit of God, and he was moved to prophesy in their midst.

When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

11 And it came to pass, that, all who knew him aforetime, looked, and lo! with the prophets, he did prophesy. So the people said, one to another—What, now, hath befallen the son of Kish? Is, even Saul, among the prophets?

All those who had formerly known Saul and saw him prophesying with the prophets asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

12 Then responded one of that place, and said, But who is, their father? For this cause, it became a proverb, Is, even Saul, among the prophets?

Then a man who lived there replied, “And who is their father?” So the saying became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

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

And when Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place.

14 Then said Saul’s uncle unto him, and unto his young man—Whither have ye been? And he said, To seek the asses, and, when they were nowhere, to be seen, we came unto Samuel.

Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”

15 And Saul’s uncle said, —Do tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you.

“Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”

16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He, told, us that the asses were found, —but, as to the matter of the kingdom, he told him not what Samuel had said.

And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

17 Then Samuel called out the people, unto Yahweh, at Mizpah,

After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah

18 and said unto the sons of Israel—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel: I myself, brought up Israel, out of Egypt, —and rescued you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that distressed you.

and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’

19 Yet, ye, to-day, have rejected your God, who, himself, hath been giving you salvation from all your calamities and your distresses, and ye have said to him: A king, shalt thou set over us, —Now, therefore, present yourselves before Yahweh, by your tribes, and by your thousands.

But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”

20 And, when Samuel had brought near all the tribes of Israel, then was taken the tribe of Benjamin.

Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.

21 And, when he had brought near the tribe of Benjamin, by their families, then was taken the family of Matri, —and, when he had brought near the family of Matri, man by man, then was taken Saul the son of Kish; so they sought him, but he was not to be found.

Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

22 Then asked they again of Yahweh, Hath there yet to come in hither a man? And Yahweh said, Lo! he, hath hid himself among the stores.

So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

23 So they ran, and fetched him thence, and, when he presented himself in the midst of the people, then was he [seen to be] taller than any of the people, from his shoulders and upwards.

So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.

24 And Samuel said unto all the people—Have ye seen him whom Yahweh hath chosen, that there is none like him, among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said—Let the king live!

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel declared unto the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a scroll, and laid it up before Yahweh. And Samuel sent away all the people, every man to his own house.

Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.

26 Yea, even Saul, went to his own house, at Gibeah, —and the valiant men whose heart God had moved went with him.

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.

27 But, abandoned men, said—How can this one save us? So they treated him with contempt, and brought him no present, —but he was as one that was deaf.

But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.