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
New American Standard Bible
Saul Publicly Chosen King
17 Now Samuel called the (A)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “(B)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 [a]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you (C)have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have [b]said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, (D)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your [c]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 (E)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, (F)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him (G)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “[d](H)Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people (I)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book, and (J)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. 26 Saul also went (K)to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain [e](L)useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and (M)did not bring him a gift. But [f]he kept silent about it.
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- 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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