1 Samuel 10:17-27
New English Translation
17 Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power[a] of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19 But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your trouble and distress. You have said, “No![b] Appoint a king over us.” Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’”
20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.”[c]
23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. 24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people.” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work.[d] He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes. 26 Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some wicked men[e] said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it.[f]
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- 1 Samuel 10:18 tn Heb “hand” (also later in this verse).
- 1 Samuel 10:19 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading לֹא (loʾ, “not”) rather than the MT לוֹ (lo; “to him”). Some witnesses combine the variants, resulting in a conflated text. For example, a few medieval Hebrew mss have לֹא לוֹ (lo loʾ; “to him, ‘No.’”). A few others have לֹא לִי (li loʾ; “to me, ‘No.’”).
- 1 Samuel 10:22 tn Or “baggage” (so many English versions); KJV “stuff”; TEV “supplies.”
- 1 Samuel 10:25 tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).
- 1 Samuel 10:27 tn Heb “sons of worthlessness” (see 2:12).
- 1 Samuel 10:27 tc In place of the MT (“and it was like one being silent”) the LXX has “after about a month,” taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran ms of Samuel, which has here “about a month.” However, it seems best to stay with the MT here even though it is difficult.
1 Samuel 10:17-27
Expanded Bible
17 Samuel called all the people of Israel ·to meet with [to] the Lord at Mizpah [7:5–11, 15–17]. 18 He said [L to the sons of Israel], “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I ·led [brought up] Israel out of Egypt. I ·saved [rescued; delivered] you from Egypt’s ·control [L hand] and from [L the hand of] other kingdoms that were ·troubling [oppressing] you.’ 19 But ·now [today] you have rejected your God. He ·saves [rescues; delivers] you from all your ·troubles [calamities; disasters; miseries] and ·problems [distresses], but you said, ‘No! ·We want [Appoint; Set] a king to rule over us.’ Now come, ·stand [present yourselves] before the Lord in your tribes and ·family groups [clans].”
20 When Samuel ·gathered [brought forward] ·all [each of] the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. 21 Samuel had ·them [the tribe of Benjamin] pass by in ·family groups [clans], and Matri’s family was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by, and Saul son of Kish was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. But when they looked for Saul, ·they could not find him [he had disappeared]. 22 They ·asked [inquired further of] the Lord, “Has ·Saul [L the man] come here yet?”
The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding ·behind [among] the baggage.”
23 So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was ·a head [head and shoulders] taller than anyone else. 24 Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. ·There is no one like him [He has no equal] among all the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained the ·rights and duties [ordinances; customs] of the king and then wrote them ·in a book [on a scroll] and put it before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. ·God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him […accompanied by warriors/valiant men whose hearts God had touched]. 27 But some ·troublemakers [scoundrels; worthless men] said, “How can this man ·save [rescue; deliver] us?” They ·disapproved of [scorned; despised] Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept ·quiet[a] [silent; held his peace; ignored them].
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- 1 Samuel 10:27 quiet The Dead Sea Scrolls add an additional paragraph here, which reads, “Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been terribly oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to save them. There were no Israelites east of the Jordan whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh Gilead.”
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