1 Samuel 9
9
1And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name [is] Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, mighty of valour,
2and he hath a son, and his name [is] Saul, a choice youth and goodly, and there is not a man among the sons of Israel goodlier than he — from his shoulder and upward, higher than any of the people.
3And the asses of Kish, father of Saul, are lost, and Kish saith unto Saul his son, ‘Take, I pray thee, with thee, one of the young men, and rise, go, seek the asses.’
4And he passeth over through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passeth over through the land of Shalisha, and they have not found; and they pass over through the land of Shaalim, and they are not; and he passeth over through the land of Benjamin, and they have not found.
5They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who [is] with him, ‘Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.’
6And he saith to him, ‘Lo, I pray thee, a man of God [is] in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.’
7And Saul saith to his young man, ‘And lo, we go, and what do we bring in to the man? for the bread hath gone from our vessels, and a present there is not to bring in to the man of God — what [is] with us?’
8And the young man addeth to answer Saul, and saith, ‘Lo, there is found with me a fourth of a shekel of silver: and I have given to the man of God, and he hath declared to us our way.’
9Formerly in Israel, thus said the man in his going to seek God, ‘Come and we go unto the seer,’ for the ‘prophet’ of to-day is called formerly ‘the seer.’
10And Saul saith to his young man, ‘Thy word [is] good; come, we go;’ and they go unto the city where the man of God [is].
11They are going up in the ascent of the city, and have found young women going out to draw water, and say to them, ‘Is the seer in this [place]?’
12And they answer them and say, ‘He is; lo, before thee! haste, now, for to-day he hath come in to the city, for the people hath a stated sacrifice in a high place.
13At your going in to the city so ye do find him, before he doth go up in to the high place to eat; for the people do not eat till his coming, for he doth bless the sacrifice; afterwards they eat, who are called, and now, go up, for at this time ye find him.’
14And they go up in to the city; they are coming in to the midst of the city, and lo, Samuel is coming out to meet them, to go up to the high place;
15and Jehovah had uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before the coming of Saul, saying,
16‘At this time tomorrow, I send unto thee a man out of the land of Benjamin — and thou hast anointed him for leader over My people Israel, and he hath saved My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen My people, for its cry hath come in unto Me.’
17When Samuel hath seen Saul, then hath Jehovah answered him, ‘Lo, the man of whom I have spoken unto thee; this [one] doth restrain My people.’
18And Saul draweth nigh to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and saith, ‘Declare, I pray thee, to me, where [is] this — the seer's house?’
19And Samuel answereth Saul and saith, ‘I [am] the seer; go up before me into the high place, and ye have eaten with me to-day, and I have sent thee away in the morning, and all that [is] in thy heart I declare to thee.
20As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom [is] all the desire of Israel?’ is it not to thee and to all thy father's house?’
21And Saul answereth and saith, ‘Am not I a Benjamite — of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken unto me according to this word?’
22And Samuel taketh Saul, and his young man, and bringeth them in to the chamber, and giveth to them a place at the head of those called; and they [are] about thirty men.
23And Samuel saith to the cook, ‘Give the portion which I gave to thee, of which I said unto thee, ‘Set it by thee?’
24(and the cook lifteth up the leg, and that which [is] on it, and setteth before Saul), and he saith, ‘Lo, that which is left; set [it] before thee — eat, for to this appointed season it is kept for thee, saying, The people I have called;’ and Saul eateth with Samuel on that day.
25And they come down from the high place to the city, and he speaketh with Saul on the roof.
26And they rise early, and it cometh to pass, at the ascending of the dawn, that Samuel calleth unto Saul, on the roof, saying, ‘Rise, and I send thee away;’ and Saul riseth, and they go out, both of them — he and Samuel, without.
27They are going down in the extremity of the city, and Samuel hath said unto Saul, ‘Say to the young man that he pass on before us (and he passeth on), and thou, stand at this time, and I cause thee to hear the word of God.’
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1 Samuel 9: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
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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