Kings I 10

1 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 amongst 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.

Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?

2 [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?

When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found; and behold, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”’

3 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.

“Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.

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

They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hand.

5 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.

“After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.

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

Then the LORD’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.

7 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.

Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you.

8 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.

“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

9 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.

It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day.

10 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.

When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.

11 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 neighbour, What [is] this that has happened to the son of Kis? [is] Saul also amongst the prophets?

When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

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

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

13 And he ceased prophesying, and comes to the hill.

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

14 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.

Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.”

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

Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 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.

Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he did not tell him.

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

Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah;

18 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.

and he said to the children of Israel, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘I brought Israel up 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 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.

But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”

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

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

21 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.

He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen; but when they looked for him, he could not be found.

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

Therefore they asked of the LORD further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” The LORD answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

23 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.

They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

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

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” All the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

25 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.

Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

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

Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched.

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

But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no tribute. But he held his peace.