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 taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, 'Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?

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?’”

In thy going to-day from me — then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do 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 thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one 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 have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from 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.

'Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines [is], and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying;

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 prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man;

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

and it hath been, when these signs come to thee — do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God [is] with thee.

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 thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost 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 hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on 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 they come in thither to the height, and lo, a band of prophets — to meet him, and prosper over him doth the Spirit of God, and he prophesieth in their midst.

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 it cometh to pass, all his acquaintance heretofore, see, and lo, with prophets he hath prophesied, and the people say one unto another, 'What [is] this hath happened to the son of Kish? 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 a man thence answereth and saith, 'And who [is] their father?' therefore it hath been for a simile, '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 ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place,

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 the uncle of Saul saith unto him, and unto his young man, 'Whither went ye?' and he saith, 'To seek the asses; and we see that they are not, and we come in unto Samuel.'

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

And the uncle of Saul saith, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, what Samuel said 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 saith unto his uncle, 'He certainly declared to us that the asses were found;' and of the matter of the kingdom he hath not declared to him that which Samuel said.

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

And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh,

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 saith unto the sons of Israel, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms who are oppressing 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 ye to-day have rejected your God, who [is] Himself your saviour out of all your evils and your distresses, and ye say, 'Nay, but — a king thou dost set over us; and now, station yourselves before Jehovah, by your tribes, and by your thousands.'

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

And Samuel bringeth near the whole tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is captured,

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 bringeth near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he hath not been found.

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

And they ask again at Jehovah, 'Hath the man yet come hither?' and Jehovah saith, 'Lo, he hath been hidden near the vessels.'

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 they run and bring him thence, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he is higher than any of the people from his shoulder and upward.

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 saith unto all the people, 'Have ye seen him on whom Jehovah hath fixed, for there is none like him among all the people?' And all the people shout, and say, '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 speaketh unto the people the right of the kingdom, and writeth in a book, and placeth before Jehovah; and Samuel sendeth all the people away, each to his house.

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 also Saul hath gone to his house, to Gibeah, and the force go with him whose heart God hath 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].

and the sons of worthlessness have said, 'What! this one doth save us!' and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf.