1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took a small jar of olive oil and poured [some of] it on Saul’s head. Then he kissed Saul [on the cheek], and told him, “I am doing this because Yahweh has chosen you to be the leader of his Israeli people.

And Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured [it] on his head, and kissed him, and said to him, Has not the Lord anointed you for a ruler over his people, over Israel? and you shall rule among the people of the Lord, and you shall save them out of the hand of their enemies; and this [shall be] the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you for a ruler over his inheritance.

2 [And this will prove it to you]: When you leave me today, when you arrive near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, in the area where the descendants of Benjamin live, you will meet two men. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys have been found, but now your father is worrying about you, and he is asking people, “Have you seen my son?’”

[As soon] as you shall have departed this day from me, you shall find two men by the burial-place of Rachel on the mount of Benjamin, exulting greatly; and they shall say to you, The asses are found which you went to seek; and, behold, your father has given up the matter of the asses, and he is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

3 When you arrive at the [large] oak tree at Tabor [town], you will see three men coming toward you. They will be on their way to [worship] God at Bethel [town]. One of them will be leading three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a container of wine.

And you shall depart thence, and shall go beyond that as far as the oak of Thabor, and you shall find there three men going up to God to Baethel, one bearing three kids, and another bearing three vessels of bread, and another bearing a bottle of wine.

4 They will greet you, and they will offer you two of the loaves of bread. Accept them.

And they shall ask you how you do, and shall give you two presents of bread, and you shall receive them of their hand.

5 When you arrive at the hill [where people worship] God near Gibeah [town], where there is the camp where the Philistine soldiers stay, you will meet a group of prophets who will be coming down from the altar on top of the hill. There will be people in front of them who will be playing [various musical instruments]: a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. And all of them will be speaking messages that come directly from God.

And afterward you shall go to the hill of God, where is the encampment of the Philistines; there [is] Nasib the Philistine: an it shall come to pass when you shall have entered into the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the Bama; and before them will be lutes, and a drum, and a pipe, and a harp, and they shall prophesy.

6 At that time the Spirit of Yahweh will come upon you, and you also will speak messages that come directly from God. (You will be changed/The Spirit of Yahweh will change you), so that you will become like a different person.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man.

7 After those things occur, do whatever you think is right to do, and God will (be with/help) you.

And it shall come to pass when these signs shall come upon you, —[then] do you whatever your hand shall find, because God [is] with you.

8 Then go ahead of me, down to Gilgal [city], and wait for me there, for seven days. Then I will join you there, to burn sacrifices and offer other sacrifices to enable you to maintain fellowship with God. When I arrive there, I will tell you what [other] things you should do.”

And you shall go down in front of Galgal, and behold, I come down to you to offer a whole burnt offering and peace-offerings: seven days shall you wait until I shall come to you, and I will make known to you what you shall do.

9 As Saul started to leave there, God changed Saul’s inner being. And all the things that Samuel had predicted happened on that day.

And it came to pass when he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs came to pass in that day.

10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw some prophets who were [speaking messages that came directly from God. As the prophets were] approaching Saul and his servant, God’s Spirit came upon Saul powerfully, and he also began to speak messages from God.

And he comes thence to the hill, and behold a band of prophets opposite to him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them.

11 When people who had known Saul previously heard him speaking messages from God as the prophets were doing, they said to each other, “What has happened to this son of Kish? Is he now really one of the (prophets/men who speak messages from God)?”

And all that had known him before came, and saw, and behold, he [was] in the midst of the prophets: and the people said every one to his neighbor, What [is] this that has happened to the son of Kis? [is] Saul also among the prophets?

12 One of the men who lived there replied, “[Saul cannot be a prophet, because] all prophets receive their power to speak messages from God, not from their parents.” And that is why, [when people hear about a report of someone prophesying, they think about what happened to Saul and] say, “[We are surprised about that person becoming a prophet, like] we were surprised to hear that Saul had really become one of the prophets.”

And one of them answered and said, And who [is] his father? and therefore it became a proverb, [Is] Saul also among the prophets?

13 When Saul finished speaking the messages that God gave him, he went to the place where the people offered sacrifices.

And he ceased prophesying, and comes to the hill.

14 Later, Saul’s uncle [saw him there, and] asked him, “Where did you go?” Saul replied, “We went to look for the donkeys. When we could not find them, we came here to ask Samuel [if he could tell us where they were].”

And his kinsman said to him and to his servant, Whither went you? and they said, To seek the asses; and we saw that they were lost, and we went in to Samuel.

15 Saul’s uncle replied, “What did Samuel tell you?”

And his kinsman said to Saul, Tell me, I pray you, What did Samuel say to you?

16 Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about him becoming the king [of Israel].

And Saul said to his kinsman, he verily told me that the asses were found. But the matter of the kingdom he told him not.

17 [Later] Samuel summoned the people of Israel to gather at Mizpah to [hear a message from] Yahweh.

And Samuel summoned all the people before the Lord to Massephath.

18 After they arrived, he said to them, “This is what Yahweh, the God we Israeli people [worship], says: I brought you Israeli people out of Egypt. I rescued your [ancestors] from the power of the rulers of Egypt and from all the other kings who oppressed them.

And he said to the children of Israel, Thus has the Lord God of Israel spoken, saying, I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you out of the hand of Pharao king of Egypt, and out of all the kingdoms that afflicted you.

19 I am the one who saves you from all your troubles and difficulties. But today you have rejected me, your God, and you have said, ‘We don’t care! Give us a king!’ So [I will do what you want]. Now have [representatives of] your tribes and [of] your clans stand here in the presence of Yahweh.’”

And you have this day rejected God, who is himself your Deliverer out of all your evils and afflictions; and you said, Nay, but you shall set a king over us: and now stand before the Lord according to your tribes, and according to your families.

20 When those representatives came near to Samuel, [God indicated that] he had chosen someone from the tribe descended from Benjamin.

And Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is taken by lot.

21 Then Samuel told representatives of the tribe of Benjamin to come forward, and God indicated that [from that tribe] he had chosen someone from the family of Matri, and then God indicated that [from the family of Matri] he had chosen Saul, the son of Kish. But when they looked for Saul, they could not find him.

And he brings near the tribe of Benjamin by families, and the family of Mattari is taken by lot: and they bring near the family of Mattari, man by man, and Saul the son of Kis is taken; and he sought him, but he was not found.

22 So they asked Yahweh, “Where is Saul?” Yahweh replied, “He is hiding among the army equipment.”

And Samuel asked yet again of the Lord, Will the man come here? and the Lord said, Behold, he is hid among the stuff.

23 So they quickly went there [and found him, ] and brought him [in front of all the people]. They could see that [truly] he was a head taller than anyone else.

And he ran and took him thence, and he set him in the midst of the people; and he was higher than all the people by his shoulders and upwards.

24 Then Samuel said to all the people there, “This is the man whom Yahweh has chosen to be your king. Among all us Israeli people, there is no one like him!” Then all the people shouted, “We hope that this king will live a long time!”

And Samuel said to all the people, Have you seen whom the Lord has chosen to himself, that there is none like to him among you all? And all the people took notice, and said, Let the king live!

25 Then Samuel told the people what things the king would force them to do, and all the things the king was required to do. He wrote all those things on a scroll, and then he put it in a sacred place in the temple. Then Samuel sent all the people home.

And Samuel told the people the manner of the king, and wrote it in a book, and set it before the Lord: and Samuel sent away all the people, and each went to his place.

26 When Saul returned to his home in Gibeah [town], a group of men decided to continually accompany Saul. They did that because God (motivated them/put it in their minds) to do that.

And Saul departed to his house to Gabaa; and there went with Saul mighty men whose hearts God had touched.

27 But some worthless men said, “(How can this man save us [from our enemies]?/This man will not be able to save us [from our enemies].)” [RHQ] They despised him, and refused to give him any gifts [to show that they would be loyal to him]. But Saul did not say anything [to rebuke them].

But evil men said, Who [is] this man [that] shall save us? and they despised him, and brought him no gifts.