1 Samuel, 10

1. Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul's head; he then kissed him and said, 'Has not Yahweh anointed you as leader of his people Israel? You are the man who is to govern Yahweh's people and save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them. The sign for you that Yahweh has anointed you as prince of his heritage is this:

1. Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.

2. after leaving me today, you will meet two men near the tomb of Rachel, on the frontier of Benjamin . . . and they will say to you, "The donkeys which you went looking for have been found, and your father has lost interest in the matter of the donkeys and is worrying about you and wondering, What am I to do about my son?"

2. When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, `The asses which you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the asses and is anxious about you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"'

3. Going on from there, you will come to the Oak of Tabor, where you will meet three men going up to God at Bethel; one will be carrying three kids, one three loaves of bread and the third a skin of wine.

3. Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.

4. They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you must accept from them.

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

5. After this, you will come to Gibeah of God (where the Philistine garrison is) and, when you are just outside the town, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, headed by lyre, tambourine, pipe and harp; they will be in a state of ecstasy.

5. After that you shall come to Gib'e-ath-elo'him, where there is a garrison of the Philistines; and there, as you come to the city, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.

6. The spirit of Yahweh will then seize on you, and you will go into ecstasy with them, and be changed into another man.

6. Then the spirit of the LORD will come mightily upon you, and you shall prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

7. When these signs have occurred, act as occasion serves, for God is with you.

7. Now when these signs meet you, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

8. You will then go down, ahead of me, to Gilgal, and I shall join you there to make burnt offerings and to offer communion sacrifices. You must wait seven days for me to come to you, and I shall then reveal to you what you must do.'

8. And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do."

9. As soon as he had turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart. And all these signs occurred that very day . . .

9. When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs came to pass that day.

10. From there, they came to Gibeah: and there was a group of prophets coming to meet him! The spirit of God seized on him and he fell into ecstasy with them.

10. When they came to Gib'e-ah, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11. Seeing him prophesying with the prophets, all the people who had known him previously said to one another, 'What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets too?'

11. And when all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

12. And one of the local people retorted, 'But who is their father?' Hence the origin of the proverb: Is Saul one of the prophets too?

12. And a man of the place answered, "And who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

13. When he came out of his ecstasy, he went into Gibeah.

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

14. Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, 'Where have you been?' 'Looking for the donkeys,' he replied, 'and when we could not find them anywhere, we went to Samuel.'

14. Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To seek the asses; and when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel."

15. Saul's uncle said, 'Tell me please what Samuel said to you.'

15. And Saul's uncle said, "Pray, tell me what Samuel said to you."

16. Saul said to his uncle, 'He merely told us that the donkeys were already found,' but did not mention anything that Samuel had said about the kingship.

16. And Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly that the asses had been found." But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

17. Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah

17. Now Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah;

18. and said to the Israelites, 'Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, "I brought Israel out of Egypt and delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you."

18. and he said to the people of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, `I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.'

19. But today you have rejected your God, him who saves you from all your difficulties and troubles; and you have said, "No, you must set a king over us." Very well, take your positions before Yahweh, tribe by tribe and clan by clan.'

19. But you have this day rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, `No! but set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands."

20. Samuel then made all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the lot indicated the tribe of Benjamin.

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

21. He then made the tribe of Benjamin come forward clan by clan, and the lot indicated the clan of Matri; he then made the clan of Matri come forward one by one, and the lot indicated Saul son of Kish, but when they looked for him, he was not to be found.

21. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot; finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

22. Again they consulted Yahweh, 'Has the man come here?' Yahweh replied, 'There he is, hiding among the baggage.'

22. So they inquired again of the LORD, "Did the man come hither?" and the LORD said, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

23. So they ran and fetched him out and, as he stood among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them.

23. Then they ran and fetched him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

24. Samuel then said to all the people, 'You have seen the man whom Yahweh has chosen, and that among the whole people he has no equal.' And all the people acclaimed him, shouting, 'Long live the king!'

24. And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

25. Samuel then explained the king's constitutional position to the people and inscribed this in a book which he placed before Yahweh. Samuel then sent all the people away, everyone back to his home.

25. Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.

26. Saul too went home to Gibeah and with him went those strong men whose hearts God had touched.

26. Saul also went to his home at Gib'e-ah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.

27. But there were some scoundrels who said, 'How can this fellow save us?' These treated him with contempt and offered him no present.

27. But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.