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17 And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah to Mizpah; 18 and he said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you: 19 but ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands. 20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they asked of Jehovah further, [a]Is there yet a man to come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage. 23 And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, Long live the king.

25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in [b]a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the [c]host, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. [d]But he held his peace.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 10:22 Or, Is the man yet come hither?
  2. 1 Samuel 10:25 Or, the
  3. 1 Samuel 10:26 Or, men of valor
  4. 1 Samuel 10:27 Or, But he was as though he had been deaf

17 Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah, 18 and he said to the Israelites,[a] “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I brought Israel up from 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 you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, ‘No, but you must appoint a king over us!’ So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”

20 So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. 21 Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was selected by lot. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, and they sought him, but he could not be found. 22 So they inquired again of Yahweh, “Did the man come here?” [b] And Yahweh said, “Look, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” 23 So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up. 24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!” And all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote the rules down on a scroll and laid it before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house. 26 And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the troops whose hearts[c] God had touched went with him. 27 However, some worthless men[d] said, “How can this man deliver us?” So they despised him and brought no gift to him, but he kept silent.[e]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 10:18 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  2. 1 Samuel 10:22 Literally “Did he come still here a man”
  3. 1 Samuel 10:26 Hebrew “heart”
  4. 1 Samuel 10:27 Literally “sons of wickedness”
  5. 1 Samuel 10:27 The Dead Sea Scrolls contained a nearly complete scroll of 1 and 2 Samuel, the oldest Hebrew manuscript extant. There is a story therein that provides a setting for the acts of Nahash in 1 Samuel 11, which otherwise seems to occur obtrusively. This story may be translated: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, harshly tormented the Gadites and the Reubenites, and he gouged out all their right eyes, and struck terror and dread in Israel. No Israelite beyond the Jordan remained whose right eye was not gouged out by Nahash king of the Ammonites, except for seven thousand men who had fled from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later …” This early text leaves off with 11:1 at this point