1 Samuel 9
9
Saul’s Search
1There was a man of [the tribe of] Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of influence and wealth. 2Kish had a son named Saul, a choice and handsome man; among the sons of Israel there was not a man more handsome than he. From his shoulders and up he was [a head] taller than any of the people.
3Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off and were lost. Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you and arise, go look for the donkeys.” 4And they passed through the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah, but did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there and the land of the Benjamites, but they [still] did not find them.
5When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, otherwise my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6The servant said to him, “Look here, in this city there is a man of God, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says comes true. Now let us go there; perhaps he can advise us about our journey [and tell us where we should go].” 7Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go [to see him], what shall we bring to the man? For the bread from our sacks is gone and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have [to offer]?” 8The servant replied again to Saul, “Here in my hand I have a quarter of a shekel of silver; I will give that to the man of God, and he will advise us as to [where we should go on] our journey [to find the donkeys].” 9(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet today was formerly called a seer.) 10Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was living.
11As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer (prophet) here?” 12They answered them, “He is; look, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. 13As you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must ask the blessing on the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. So go up now, for about now you will find him.” 14So they went up to the city. And as they came into the city, there was Samuel coming out toward them to go up to the high place.
God’s Choice for King
15Now a day before Saul came, the Lord had #9:15 Lit opened Samuel’s ear.informed Samuel [of this], saying, 16“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as leader over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon [the distress of] My people, because their cry [for help] has come to Me.” 17When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “There is the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall rule over My people [as their king].” 18Then Saul approached Samuel in the [city] gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go on ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20As for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And for whom are all things that are desirable in Israel? Are they not for you and for all your father’s household (family)?” 21Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite, of #9:21 The tribe of Benjamin had fallen into disrepute and had been nearly annihilated during the time of the judges (Judg 20:46-48).the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the smallest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken this way to me [as if I were very important]?”
22Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall [at the high place] and gave them a place [to sit] at the head of the persons—about thirty men—who were invited [while the rest ate outside]. 23Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the [priests’] portion that I gave you, regarding which I told you, ‘Set it aside.’ ” 24Then the cook lifted up the leg (thigh) with the meat that was on it [indicating that it was the priest’s honored portion] and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved [for you]. Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ever since I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the #9:25 This was an ancient custom, and the roofs were flat and designed in part for this purpose. Verse 26 also indicates that Saul was given the roof as a place to sleep.roof [of his house]. 26They got up early [the next day]; and at dawn Samuel called Saul [who was sleeping] on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside. 27As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us so that he may pass by but you stand still now so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”
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Amplified® Bible
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1 Samuel 9
9
1There was a wealthy and influential man from the tribe of Benjamin, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bekorath, son of Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. 2Kish had a son called Saul, the most handsome young man in all of Israel. He was head and shoulders taller than anyone else.
3One time the donkeys of Saul's father Kish went astray. Kish told his son Saul, “Please go and look for the donkeys. You can take one of the servants with you.” 4Saul searched the hill country of Ephraim and then the land of Shalishah, but didn't find the donkeys. He and the servant searched the region of Shaalim, but they weren't there. Then they searched the land of Benjamin, and they still couldn't find them.
5When they got to the land of Zuph, Saul told his servant, “Come on, let's go back, otherwise my father won't be worrying about the donkeys, but about us.”
6But the servant replied, “Hold on! There's a man of God here in this town. He's very well thought of, and everything he says comes true. Let's go and see him. Maybe he can tell us which way we should take.”
7“But if we do go, what can we give him?” Saul replied. “All the bread in our bags is gone. We don't have anything to take to the man of God. What do we have with us?”
8“Look, I've got a quarter shekel of silver with me. I'll give it to the man of God so he can tell us the way we should take,” the servant told Saul.
9(In the old days in Israel, someone who went to inquire of God would say, “Come on, let's go to the seer,” because prophets used to be known as seers.)
10“That's good,” Saul told his servant. “So let's go.” They went to the town where the man of God was.
11As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked them, “Is the seer here?”
12“He is,” they replied, “Up ahead of you. But you'll have to hurry. He's come to town today because the people are having a sacrifice at the high place. 13When you enter the town you can find him before he goes up to eat at the high place. The people won't eat before he comes, because he has to bless the sacrifice. After that, those who've been invited will eat. If you leave now you'll catch him.”
14So they carried on their way up to the town. As they arrived there was Samuel going in the opposite direction. They met him on his way up to the high place.
15The day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told Samuel, 16“Around this time tomorrow I'm going to send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him as ruler over my people Israel, and he will rescue them from the Philistines. I have seen what's happening to my people and I have heard their cry for help.”
17When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I told you about. He is the one who is going to rule my people.”
18Saul went up to Samuel in the gateway and asked him, “Could you please tell me where the house of the seer is?”
19“I am the seer,” Samuel told Saul. “Go up ahead of me and we will eat together. Then in the morning I will answer all your questions and then send you on your way. 20About the donkeys you lost three days ago—don't worry about them because they've been found. But now—doesn't the hope of all of Israel rest on you and your family line?”
21“But I'm from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least significant of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin!” Saul replied. “Why are you telling me this?”
22Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall, and sat them at the head of the thirty people who'd been invited. 23Samuel told the cook, “Bring the special piece of meat I gave you and told you to keep to one side.”
24So the cook took the upper thigh#9:24. Saul was given the meat that only priests were meant to eat. See Leviticus 10:14-15. of meat and what was with it and placed it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “See, this is what was kept to one side. It was reserved for you. Eat it, for it was kept for you for this particular time, right from when I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25Once they had returned from the high place to the town, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house.#9:25. In the absence of other rooms, the flat roof of the house was used as temporary accommodation. 26At dawn the next day Samuel called out to Saul on the roof, “Get up! I need to send you on your way!” So Saul got up, and he went outside with Samuel. 27As they approached the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell your servant to go on ahead of us. Once he's gone stay here for a while, because I have a message from God to give you.” So the servant went on ahead.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com