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 bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

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 gone away from me today, you will see two men by the resting-place of Rachel's body, in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went in search of have come back, and now your father, caring no longer for the asses, is troubled about you, saying, What am I to do about 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 are to go on from there, and when you come to the oak-tree of Tabor, you will see three men going up to God to Beth-el, one having with him three young goats and another three cakes of bread and another a skin full 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 say, Peace be with you, and will give you two cakes of bread, which you are to take from them.

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 Gibeah, the hill of God, where an armed force of the Philistines is stationed: and when you come to the town, you will see a band of prophets coming down from the high place with instruments of music before them; and they will be acting like prophets:

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

And the spirit of the Lord will come on you with power, and you will be acting like a prophet with them, and will be changed 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.

And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; 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.

Then you are to go down before me to Gilgal, where I will come to you, for the offering of burned offerings and peace-offerings: go on waiting there for seven days till I come to you and make clear to you what you have 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.

And it came about, that when he went away from Samuel, God gave him a changed heart: and all those signs took place 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.

And when they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets came face to face with him; and the spirit of God came on him with power and he took his place among them as a prophet.

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?

Now when Saul's old friends saw him among the band of prophets, the people said to one another, What has come to Saul, the son of Kish? Is even Saul 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?

And one of the people of that place said in answer, And who is their father? So it became a common saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?

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

Then going away from the prophets, he came to the house.

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.

And Saul's father's brother said to him and his servant, Where have you been? And he said, Searching for the asses: and when we saw no sign of them, we came to Samuel.

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

Then he said, And what did Samuel say 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.

And Saul, answering him, said, He gave us word that the asses had come back. But he said nothing to him of Samuel's words about the kingdom.

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

Then Samuel sent for the people to come together before the Lord at 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, has said, I took Israel out of Egypt, and made you free from the hands of the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms which kept you down:

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 today you are turned away from your God, who himself has been your saviour from all your troubles and sorrows; and you have said to him, Put a king over us. So now, take your places 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 made all the tribes of Israel come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

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.

Then he made the tribe of Benjamin come near by families, and the family of the Matrites was taken: and from them, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken: but when they went in search of him he was nowhere to be seen.

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.

So they put another question to the Lord, Is the man present here? And the answer of the Lord was, He is keeping himself from view among the goods.

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.

So they went quickly and made him come out; and when he took his place among the people, he was taller by a head than any of the people.

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!

And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man of the Lord's selection, how there is no other like him among all the people? And all the people with loud cries said, Long life to 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 gave the people the laws of the kingdom, writing them in a book which he put in a safe place before the Lord. And 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.

And Saul went to Gibeah, to his house; and with him went the men of war whose hearts had been touched by God.

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

But certain good-for-nothing persons said, How is this man to be our saviour? And having no respect for him, they gave him no offering.