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 a flask of oil, poured it on Saul's head, and kissed him. He said, “Has not Yahweh anointed you to be a 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 leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel's tomb, in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, 'The donkeys that you were looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, “What should 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. Three men going 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 and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

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

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 will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre before them; 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;

The Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into a different man.

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

Now, when these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds to do, 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.'

Go down before me to Gilgal. Then I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you must 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 Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. Then 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.

When they came to the hill, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him so that he prophesied with 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?'

When everyone who knew him before saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people said to each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets now?”

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?'

A man who was from that same place answered, “Then who is their father?” Because of this, it became a saying, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?”

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

When he finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

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 Saul's uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” He replied, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that we could not find them, 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 replied to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken.

17 And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh,

Now Samuel called the people together before Yahweh at 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;

He said to the people of Israel, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel says: 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from 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 today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all of your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, 'Set a king over us.' Now present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”

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 chosen.

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.

Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their clans; and the clan of the Matrites was chosen; and Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they went looking 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.'

Then the people wanted to ask God more questions, “Is there still another man to come?” Yahweh answered, “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.

Then they ran and retrieved Saul from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders 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!'

Then Samuel said to the people, “Do you see the man whom Yahweh has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people!” All the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

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 customs and rules of kingship, wrote them down in a book, and placed it before Yahweh. Samuel then sent all the people away, each man to his own house.

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 home at Gibeah, and with him went some strong men, whose hearts God 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 some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” These people despised Saul and did not bring him any gifts. But Saul kept silent.