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Saul Among the Prophets

10 Then (A)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, (B)kissed him, and said, “Has not (C)Yahweh anointed you a ruler over (D)His inheritance? When you go from 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 search for have been found. Now behold, your father has [a]ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 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; and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread. And you will take them from their hand. Afterward you will come to [c](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 before them, and (K)they will be prophesying. Then (L)the Spirit of Yahweh will [d]come upon you mightily, and (M)you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. Now it will be when these signs come to you, (N)do for yourself whatever your hand finds to do, for (O)God is with you. And (P)you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and (Q)sacrifice peace offerings. (R)You shall wait seven days until I come to you and make you know what you should do.”

Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God (S)changed [e]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. 10 (T)And they came to [f]the hill there, and behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God [g]came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. 11 Now it happened that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, so the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? (U)Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man there answered and said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “(V)Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 Then he finished prophesying and came to the high place.

14 Now (W)Saul’s uncle said to him and his young man, “Where did you go?” And he said, “(X)To look for the donkeys. And we saw that they were not anywhere, so we went to Samuel.” 15 And 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 said.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 10:2 Lit abandoned the matter of
  2. 1 Samuel 10:3 Or terebinth
  3. 1 Samuel 10:5 Or Gibeath-haelohim
  4. 1 Samuel 10:6 Lit succeeded, rushed upon
  5. 1 Samuel 10:9 Lit for him another heart
  6. 1 Samuel 10:10 Or Gibeath
  7. 1 Samuel 10:10 Lit succeeded, rushed upon

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) 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?’

“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. They will ask how you are and give you two loaves[b] of bread, which you will accept from them.

“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. The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully on you,(L) you will prophesy with them,(M) and you will be transformed.(N) When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require[d](O) because God is with you. 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.”

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.

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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. 10:4 DSS, LXX read wave offerings
  3. 10:5 Or governors
  4. 10:7 Lit do for yourself whatever your hand finds
  5. 10:9 Lit God turned to him another heart