1 Samuel 10

Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

1Samuel took a small jar of oil. He poured it on Saul's head. Then he kissed him. He said, "The LORD has chosen you to lead his people."

Note"Anointed" means oil was poured on a person's head. In Israel this showed that God had chosen that person for a special job.

2When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

2"When you leave me today, you will meet two men. They will be near Rachel's grave at Zelzah, on the edge of Benjamin's land. They will tell you the lost donkeys have been found. Your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys. Now he is worried about you. He keeps asking, 'What should I do about my son?'"

3Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

3"Then keep going until you reach the big oak tree at Tabor. Three men will meet you there. They are going to worship God at Bethel. One will carry three young goats. One will carry three loaves of bread. One will carry a skin bag full of wine."

4And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

4"They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread. Take the bread from their hands."

5After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

5"After that you will come to the hill of God, where Philistine soldiers are camped. As you come near the town, you will meet a group of prophets. Prophets are people who tell others what God is saying. They will be walking down from the worship place. Music will play in front of them, with harps, drums, and flutes. The prophets will be speaking God's words."

6And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

6"Then the Spirit of the LORD will come on you with power. You will speak God's words along with them. You will become a different man."

7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

7"When these signs happen, do whatever the moment calls for. God is with you."

8And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

8"Go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will come there to you. I will burn gifts to God and give peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come. Then I will tell you what to do."

9And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

9Saul turned to leave Samuel. God gave Saul a new heart. All the signs came true that very day.

10And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

10Saul and his servant came to the hill. A group of prophets met him there. The Spirit of God came on Saul with power. He spoke God's words along with them.

11And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

11People who had known Saul before saw this happen. They watched him speaking God's words with the prophets. They asked each other, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul a prophet now too?"

12And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

12A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" That is how the saying began: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

13When Saul finished speaking God's words, he went up to the worship place.

14And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

14Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?" Saul said, "To look for the donkeys. We could not find them, so we went to Samuel."

15And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

15Saul's uncle said, "Please tell me what Samuel said to you."

16And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

16Saul said, "He told us plainly that the donkeys were found." But Saul did not tell him what Samuel said about being king.

17And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;

17Then Samuel called all the people to meet with the LORD at Mizpeh.

18And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

18He said to the people of Israel, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says. 'I brought Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from the Egyptians. I saved you from every kingdom that treated you badly.'"

19And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

19"But today you have said no to your God. He is the one who saves you from all your troubles. You told him, 'No. Give us a king instead.' So now come and stand before the LORD. Come tribe by tribe. A tribe is one big family group."

20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

20Samuel had every tribe of Israel come forward. The tribe of Benjamin was picked.

21When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

21Then the families of Benjamin came forward. The family of Matri was picked. Then Saul, the son of Kish, was picked. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.

22Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

22So they asked the LORD again, "Has the man come here yet?" The LORD answered, "He is hiding among the bags and supplies."

NoteThe old word "stuff" here means baggage. Saul was hiding behind the bags and supplies people had brought with them.

23And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

23They ran and brought him out. He stood among the people. He was taller than everyone else, by a whole head.

24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

24Samuel said to all the people, "Look at the man the LORD has chosen. No one else is like him." All the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

Note"God save the king" was the old way of saying "May the king live a long time."

25Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

25Then Samuel told the people the rules for having a king. He wrote the rules in a book. He set the book down before the LORD. Then Samuel sent everyone home.

26And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

26Saul went home to Gibeah. Brave men went with him. God had touched their hearts.

27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

27But some troublemakers said, "How can this man save us?" They looked down on Saul and brought him no gifts. But Saul stayed quiet about it.

Note"Children of Belial" is not a family name. It means worthless men who cause trouble.