9 And 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,

² and 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.

³ And 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.'

⁴ And 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.

⁵ They 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.'

⁶ And 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.'

⁷ And 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?'

⁸ And 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.'

⁹ Formerly 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.'

¹⁰ And 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].

¹¹ They 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]?'

¹² And 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.

¹³ At 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.'

¹⁴ And 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;

¹⁵ and 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.'

¹⁷ When 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.'

¹⁸ And 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?'

¹⁹ And 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.

²⁰ As 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?'

²¹ And 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?'

²² And 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.

²³ And 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.

²⁵ And they come down from the high place to the city, and he speaketh with Saul on the roof.

²⁶ And 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.

²⁷ They 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.'

10 And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, `Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?

² In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

³ `And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine,

⁴ and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

⁵ `Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines [is], and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying;

⁶ and prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man;

⁷ and it hath been, when these signs come to thee -- do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God [is] with thee.

⁸ `And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.'

⁹ And it hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on that day,

¹⁰ and they come in thither to the height, and lo, a band of prophets -- to meet him, and prosper over him doth the Spirit of God, and he prophesieth in their midst.

¹¹ And it cometh to pass, all his acquaintance heretofore, see, and lo, with prophets he hath prophesied, and the people say one unto another, `What [is] this hath happened to the son of Kish? is Saul also among the prophets?'

¹² And a man thence answereth and saith, `And who [is] their father?' therefore it hath been for a simile, `Is Saul also among the prophets?'

¹³ And he ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place,

¹⁴ and the uncle of Saul saith unto him, and unto his young man, `Whither went ye?' and he saith, `To seek the asses; and we see that they are not, and we come in unto Samuel.'

¹⁵ And the uncle of Saul saith, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, what Samuel said to you?'

¹⁶ And Saul saith unto his uncle, `He certainly declared to us that the asses were found;' and of the matter of the kingdom he hath not declared to him that which Samuel said.

¹⁷ And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh,

¹⁸ and saith unto the sons of Israel, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms who are oppressing you;

¹⁹ and ye to-day have rejected your God, who [is] Himself your saviour out of all your evils and your distresses, and ye say, `Nay, but -- a king thou dost set over us; and now, station yourselves before Jehovah, by your tribes, and by your thousands.'

²⁰ And Samuel bringeth near the whole tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is captured,

²¹ and he bringeth near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he hath not been found.

²² And they ask again at Jehovah, `Hath the man yet come hither?' and Jehovah saith, `Lo, he hath been hidden near the vessels.'

²³ And they run and bring him thence, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he is higher than any of the people from his shoulder and upward.

²⁴ And Samuel saith unto all the people, `Have ye seen him on whom Jehovah hath fixed, for there is none like him among all the people?' And all the people shout, and say, `Let the king live!'

²⁵ And Samuel speaketh unto the people the right of the kingdom, and writeth in a book, and placeth before Jehovah; and Samuel sendeth all the people away, each to his house.

²⁶ And also Saul hath gone to his house, to Gibeah, and the force go with him whose heart God hath touched;

²⁷ and the sons of worthlessness have said, `What! this one doth save us!' and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf.