1 Samuel 10
Christian Standard Bible
10 Samuel took the flask of oil,(A) poured it out on Saul’s head,(B) kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t the Lord anointed you(C) ruler over his inheritance?[a](D) 2 Today when you leave me, you’ll find two men at Rachel’s Grave(E) at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found,(F) and now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What should I do about my son?’
3 “You will proceed from there until you come to the oak of Tabor.(G) Three men going up to God at Bethel(H) will meet you there, one bringing three goats, one bringing three loaves of bread, and one bringing a clay jar of wine. 4 They will ask how you are and give you two loaves[b] of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 “After that you will come to Gibeah of God(I) where there are Philistine garrisons.[c] When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets(J) coming down from the high place prophesying.(K) They will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully on you,(L) you will prophesy with them,(M) and you will be transformed.(N) 7 When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require[d](O) because God is with you. 8 Afterward, go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what to do.”
9 When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his heart,[e] and all the signs came about that day. 10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully on him, and he prophesied along with them.
11 Everyone who knew him previously and saw him prophesy with the prophets asked each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (P)
12 Then a man who was from there asked, “And who is their father?” (Q)
As a result, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” became a popular saying. 13 Then Saul finished prophesying and went to the high place.
14 Saul’s uncle(R) asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?”
“To look for the donkeys,” Saul answered. “When we saw they weren’t there, we went to Samuel.”(S)
15 “Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”
16 Saul told him, “He assured us the donkeys had been found.” However, Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.
Saul Received as King
17 Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah(T) 18 and said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:(U) ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God,(V) who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You[f] must set a king over us.’(W) Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”(X)
20 Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. 21 Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the Matrite clan was selected.[g] Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected.(Y) But when they searched for him, they could not find him. 22 They again inquired of the Lord,(Z) “Has the man come here yet?”
The Lord replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.”
23 They ran and got him from there. When he stood among the people, he stood a head taller than anyone else.[h](AA) 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen?(AB) There is no one like him among the entire population.”
And all the people shouted,[i] “Long live the king!” (AC)
25 Samuel proclaimed to the people the rights of kingship.(AD) He wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the Lord.(AE) Then Samuel sent all the people home.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah,(AF) and brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But some wicked men said, “How can this guy save us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift,(AG) but Saul said nothing.[j][k]
Footnotes
- 10:1 LXX adds And you will reign over the Lord’s people, and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. And this is the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his inheritance.
- 10:4 DSS, LXX read wave offerings
- 10:5 Or governors
- 10:7 Lit do for yourself whatever your hand finds
- 10:9 Lit God turned to him another heart
- 10:19 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg read You said, ‘No, you
- 10:21 LXX adds And he had the Matrite clan come forward, man by man.
- 10:23 Lit people, and he was higher than any of the people from his shoulder and up
- 10:24 LXX reads acknowledged and said
- 10:27 DSS add Nahash king of the Ammonites had been severely oppressing the Gadites and Reubenites. He gouged out the right eye of each of them and brought fear and trembling on Israel. Of the Israelites beyond the Jordan none remained whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.
- 10:27 Lit gift, and he was like a mute person
1 Samuel 10
New American Standard Bible
Saul among the Prophets
10 Then (A)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on [a]Saul’s head, (B)kissed him, and said, “Has (C)the Lord not anointed you as ruler over (D)His inheritance? 2 When you leave me today, then you will find two men close to (E)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘(F)The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has stopped talking about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What am I to do about my son?”’ 3 Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the [b](G)oak of Tabor, and there three men going up (H)to God at Bethel will meet you: one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine. 4 And they will [c]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. 5 Afterward you will come to [d](I)the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet (J)a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and (K)they will be prophesying. 6 Then (L)the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and (M)you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. 7 And it shall be when these signs come to you, (N)do for yourself what [e]the occasion requires, because (O)God is with you. 8 And (P)you shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and (Q)sacrifice peace offerings. (R)You shall wait seven days until I come to you and inform you of what you should do.”
9 Then it happened, when he turned his back to leave Samuel, that God (S)changed [f]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. 10 (T)When they came there to [g]the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them. 11 And it came about, when all who previously knew him saw that he was indeed prophesying with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? (U)Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “(V)Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 Now (W)Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “(X)To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 So Saul said to his uncle, “(Y)He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.
Saul Publicly Chosen King
17 Now Samuel called the (Z)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “(AA)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the [h]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you (AB)have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have [i]said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, (AC)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your [j]groups of thousands.”
20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward; and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the Matrite family was selected by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was selected by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore (AD)they inquired further of the Lord: “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” 23 So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, (AE)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him (AF)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “[k](AG)Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people (AH)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book, and (AI)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. 26 Saul also went (AJ)to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain [l](AK)useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and (AL)did not bring him a gift. But [m]he kept silent about it.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 10:1 Lit his
- 1 Samuel 10:3 Or terebinth
- 1 Samuel 10:4 Lit inquire of your welfare
- 1 Samuel 10:5 Or Gibeath-haelohim
- 1 Samuel 10:7 Lit your hand finds
- 1 Samuel 10:9 Lit for him another heart
- 1 Samuel 10:10 Or Gibeath
- 1 Samuel 10:18 Lit hand
- 1 Samuel 10:19 As in several mss and ancient versions; MT said to Him
- 1 Samuel 10:19 Or clans
- 1 Samuel 10:24 Lit May the king live
- 1 Samuel 10:27 Or wicked; lit sons of Belial
- 1 Samuel 10:27 A mutilated DSS fragment of uncertain reliability (4QSama) adds here that Nahash (11:1) gouged out the right eyes of Israelites
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