1 Samuel 9
9
Saul Chosen to Be King
1There was a man of Benjamin whose name was #ch. 14:51; 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2And he had a son whose name was Saul, #[ch. 8:16] a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. #ch. 10:23From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
3Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4And he passed through #See Josh. 24:33 the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of #2 Kgs. 4:42Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
5When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant#9:5 Hebrew young man; also verses 7, 8, 10, 27 who was with him, “Come, let us go back, #ch. 10:2lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6But he said to him, “Behold, there is #Deut. 33:1; Judg. 13:6; 1 Kgs. 13:1 a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; #ch. 3:19all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, #[1 Kgs. 14:3; 2 Kgs. 4:42; 8:8]what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel#9:8 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9(Formerly in Israel, when a man #Gen. 25:22went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11As they went up the hill to the city, #Gen. 24:11they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people #ch. 16:2; 20:29; Gen. 31:54 have a sacrifice today on #ch. 10:5; 1 Kgs. 3:2-4the high place. 13As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
15Now the day before Saul came, #ch. 15:1; [Acts 13:21] the Lord had #Ruth 4:4revealed to Samuel: 16“Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, #ch. 10:1 and you shall anoint him to be prince#9:16 Or leader over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. #Ex. 2:25; 3:7, 9For I have seen#9:16 Septuagint adds the affliction of my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, #[ch. 16:12]“Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” 18Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20#ver. 3As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 21Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, #[Judg. 20:46; 21:6; Ps. 68:27] from the least of the tribes of Israel? #ch. 15:17; [Judg. 6:15]And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” 24So the cook took up #Ex. 29:22, 27; Lev. 7:32, 33; [Ezek. 24:4]the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”#9:24 Hebrew appointed, saying, ‘I have invited the people’
So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul #[Deut. 22:8; 2 Sam. 11:2; 16:22; Neh. 8:16; Matt. 24:17; Acts 10:9]on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.#9:25 Septuagint; Hebrew city, he spoke with Saul on the roof 26Then at the break of dawn#9:26 Septuagint; Hebrew And they arose early, and at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
27As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 9
9
Saul chosen to lead Israel
1There was a wealthy man from the tribe of Benjamin named Kish. He was the son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite. 2He had a son named Saul, who was a handsome young man. No one in Israel was more handsome than Saul, and he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.
3When the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servant boys with you and go look for the donkeys.” 4So he traveled through the highlands of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah, but they didn’t find anything. They traveled through the land of Shaalim, but still found nothing, so they crossed back into the land of Benjamin, but they still couldn’t find the donkeys. 5When they came to the territory of Zuph, Saul said to the boy who was with him, “Let’s go back before my father stops worrying about the donkeys and starts worrying about us.”
6But the boy said to him, “Listen, there’s a man of God in this town. He’s famous—everything he says actually happens! So let’s go there. Maybe he’ll be able to tell us which way we should go.”
7Saul said to his young boy, “But if we go, what should we bring to the man? The food in our bags is all gone. We don’t have any gift to offer the man of God. Do we have anything?”
8“Here,” the boy answered Saul, “I’ve got a quarter-shekel of silver. I’ll give that to the man of God so he tells us which way to go.” (9Earlier in Israel, someone going to consult with God would say, “Let’s go to the seer,” because the people who are called prophets today were previously called seers.)
10Saul said to the boy, “Great idea! Let’s go.” So they went into the town where the man of God lived. 11They were going up the hill to the town when they met some young women coming out to draw water. “Is the seer here?” they asked them.
12“He’s just ahead of you,” they answered. “Hurry up! He has just come to town because there is a sacrifice today for the people at the shrine. 13You’ll find him as soon as you enter the town, before he goes up to the shrine to eat. The people won’t eat until he gets there, because he must bless the sacrifice. Only after that can the invited guests eat. Now get going because you’ll find him momentarily.”
14So Saul and the boy went up to the town, and as they entered it, suddenly Samuel came toward them on his way up to the shrine. 15Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed the following to Samuel: 16“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the Benjaminite territory. You will anoint him as leader of my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines’ power because I have seen the suffering of#9.16 LXX; MT lacks the suffering of. my people, and their cry for help has reached me.” 17When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “That’s the man I told you about. That’s the one who will rule#9.17 LXX; Heb uncertain, perhaps restrain or gather (troops); cf 10:1 my people.”
18Saul approached Samuel in the city gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”
19“I’m the seer,” Samuel told Saul. “Go on ahead of me to the shrine. You can eat with me today. In the morning I’ll send you on your way, and I will tell you everything you want to know. 20As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, don’t be worried about them because they’ve been found. Who owns all of Israel’s treasures, anyway? Isn’t it you and your whole family?”#9.20 Or But for whom does all Israel yearn if not for you and your whole family?
21“I’m a Benjaminite,” Saul responded, “from the smallest Israelite tribe, and my family is the littlest of the families in the tribe of Benjamin. Why would you say something like that to me?”
22Then Samuel took Saul and his young servant and brought them to the banquet room. He gave them an honored place among the invited guests. There were about thirty total. 23Samuel said to the cook, “Serve the portion I gave you—the one I told you to set aside.” 24So the cook took the thigh and what was on it,#9.24 Heb uncertain and put it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “Look, what had been reserved is now in front of you. Eat up, because it was set apart for you for this specific occasion, ever since I invited the guests.”#9.24 Heb uncertain So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25When they came back from the shrine to the town, a bed was made for Saul on the roof, and he slept.#9.25 LXX; MT He (Samuel?) talked with Saul on the roof. Then they got up early.
26Near dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Wake up! I will send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and the two of them, he and Samuel, went outside. 27As they were nearing the edge of town Samuel said, “Tell the boy to go on ahead of us” (the servant did so) “but you stop for a bit so I can tell you God’s word.”
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