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 a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head, and kissed him, saying, “The Lord has anointed you as ruler of his chosen people.

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 leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb in Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father isn't concerned about them but is worried about you. He's wondering, ‘What 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.

You will leave there and go on to the oak at Tabor where you will meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin 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 should take.

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.

Next you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have a garrison. As you come into town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place led by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, 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.

The Spirit of the Lord will come on you with power. You will prophesy with them, and you will become a different 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.

After these signs have happened, do what you need to do, 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 go ahead of me to Gilgal. I assure you I will come and join you to present burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Wait there seven days until I come to you, and let you know what you should 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.

The moment Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave Saul a different way of thinking, and all the signs were fulfilled 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 Saul and his servant arrived in Gibeah, there was a procession of prophets coming out to meet them, the Spirit of God came on Saul with power, and he also started to prophesy with 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?

Everyone who had used to know Saul and saw him prophesying with the prophets said to each other, “What's going on with the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets too?”

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?

A man living there responded, “But who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”

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

After Saul had finished prophesying, he went 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 asked Saul and his servant, “Where have you been?” “We were looking for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we couldn't find them we went to Samuel.”

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

“Please tell me what he said to you,” Saul's uncle asked.

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.

“He promised us the donkeys had been found,” Saul replied. But Saul didn't tell his uncle what Samuel had said about him becoming king.

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

Samuel called the people of Israel to come 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.

He told the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I led Israel out of Egypt, and I saved you from the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms that were oppressing 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 now you have rejected your God, the one who saves you from all your troubles and disasters. You told him, ‘You must appoint a king to rule us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”

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

Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.

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 had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its family groups, and the family group of Matri was chosen. Lastly, Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But when they looked for him, he couldn't 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.

So they asked the Lord, “Has he arrived here yet?” The Lord replied, “Go and look—he's hiding 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 brought Saul over. When he stood among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else.

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 everyone, “Can you see the one the Lord has chosen? There's no one like him anywhere!” All the people shouted, “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 explained to the people all that a king would do. He wrote it down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent everyone home.

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

Saul also returned to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by warriors who God had encouraged to help him.

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

But some obnoxious men asked, “How could this man save us?” They hated him and didn't bring him any gifts; but Saul did not retaliate.