1 Samuel 10

1 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?

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.

2 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?

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?"'

3 '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,

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.

4 and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

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

5 '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;

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.

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

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.

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

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

8 '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.'

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."

9 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,

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

10 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.

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.

11 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?'

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?"

12 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?'

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

13 And he ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place,

And when he had finished prophesying, and went home,

14 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.'

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."

15 And the uncle of Saul saith, 'Declare, I pray thee, to me, what Samuel said to you?'

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

16 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.

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.

17 And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh,

Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah;

18 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;

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:'

19 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.'

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."

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

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

21 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.

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.

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

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."

23 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.

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.

24 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!'

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."

25 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.

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

26 And also Saul hath gone to his house, to Gibeah, and the force go with him whose heart God hath touched;

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

27 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.

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.