1 Samuel 10

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul's head; he then kissed him and said, 'Has not Yahwehanointed you as leader of his people Israel? You are the man who is to govern Yahweh's people and save themfrom the power of the enemies surrounding them. The sign for you that Yahweh has anointed you as prince ofhis heritage is this:	1 Then, from a flask he had with him, Samuel poured oil on Saul's head; he also kissed him, saying: "The LORD anoints you commander over his heritage. You are to govern the LORD'S people Israel, and to save them from the grasp of their enemies round about. "This will be the sign for you that the LORD has anointed you commander over his heritage:
2 after leaving me today, you will meet two men near the tomb of Rachel, on the frontier of Benjamin . . .and they wil say to you, "The donkeys which you went looking for have been found, and your father has lostinterest in the matter of the donkeys and is worrying about you and wondering, What am I to do about my son?"	2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin, who will say to you, 'The asses you went to look for have been found. Your father is no longer worried about the asses, but is anxious about you and says, What shall I do about my son?'
3 Going on from there, you wil come to the Oak of Tabor, where you will meet three men going up toGod at Bethel; one wil be carrying three kids, one three loaves of bread and the third a skin of wine.	3 Farther on, when you arrive at the terebinth of Tabor, you will be met by three men going up to God at Bethel; one will be bringing three kids, another three loaves of bread, and the third a skin of wine.
4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you must accept from them.	4 They will greet you and offer you two wave offerings of bread, which you will take from them.
5 After this, you wil come to Gibeah of God (where the Philistine garrison is) and, when you are justoutside the town, you wil meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, headed by lyre,tambourine, pipe and harp; they wil be in a state of ecstasy.	5 After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. As you enter that city, you will meet a band of prophets, in a prophetic state, coming down from the high place preceded by lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps.
6 The spirit of Yahweh will then seize on you, and you wil go into ecstasy with them, and be changed into another man.	6 The spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will join them in their prophetic state and will be changed into another man.
7 When these signs have occurred, act as occasion serves, for God is with you.	7 When you see these signs fulfilled, do whatever you judge feasible, because God is with you.
8 You wil then go down, ahead of me, to Gilgal, and I shall join you there to make burnt offerings and tooffer communion sacrifices. You must wait seven days for me to come to you, and I shal then reveal to you whatyou must do.'	8 Now go down ahead of me to Gilgal, for I shall come down to you, to offer holocausts and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you; I shall then tell you what you must do."
9 As soon as he had turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart. And al these signsoccurred that very day . . .	9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. That very day all these signs came to pass. . . .
10 From there, they came to Gibeah: and there was a group of prophets coming to meet him! The spiritof God seized on him and he fell into ecstasy with them.	10 When they were going from there to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him, and the spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he joined them in their prophetic state.
11 Seeing him prophesying with the prophets, al the people who had known him previously said to oneanother, 'What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets too?'	11 When all who had known him previously saw him in a prophetic state among the prophets, they said to one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
12 And one of the local people retorted, 'But who is their father?' Hence the origin of the proverb: Is Saulone of the prophets too?	12 And someone from that district added, "And who is their father?" Thus the proverb arose, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
13 When he came out of his ecstasy, he went into Gibeah.	13 When he came out of the prophetic state, he went home.
14 Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, 'Where have you been?' 'Looking for the donkeys,' hereplied, 'and when we could not find them anywhere, we went to Samuel.'	14 Saul's uncle inquired of him and his servant, "Where have you been?" Saul replied, "To look for the asses. When we could not find them, we went to Samuel."
15 Saul's uncle said, 'Tel me please what Samuel said to you.'	15 Then Saul's uncle said, "Tell me, then, what Samuel said to you."
16 Saul said to his uncle, 'He merely told us that the donkeys were already found,' but did not mentionanything that Samuel had said about the kingship.	16 Saul said to his uncle, "He assured us that the asses had been found." But he mentioned nothing to him of what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah	17 Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah
18 and said to the Israelites, 'Yahweh, God of Israel, says this, "I brought Israel out of Egypt anddelivered you from the power of the Egyptians and of al the kingdoms that were oppressing you."	18 and addressed the Israelites: "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought Israel up from Egypt and delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.'
19 But today you have rejected your God, him who saves you from al your difficulties and troubles; andyou have said, "No, you must set a king over us." Very well, take your positions before Yahweh, tribe by tribeand clan by clan.'	19 But today you have rejected your God, who delivers you from all your evils and calamities, by saying to him, 'Not so, but you must appoint a king over us.' Now, therefore, take your stand before the LORD according to tribes and families."
20 Samuel then made al the tribes of Israel come forward, and the lot indicated the tribe of Benjamin.	20 So Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
21 He then made the tribe of Benjamin come forward clan by clan, and the lot indicated the clan ofMatri; he then made the clan of Matri come forward one by one, and the lot indicated Saul son of Kish, but whenthey looked for him, he was not to be found.	21 Next he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward in clans, and the clan of Matri was chosen, and finally Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But they looked for him in vain.
22 Again they consulted Yahweh, 'Has the man come here?' Yahweh replied, 'There he is, hidingamong the baggage.'	22 Again they consulted the LORD, "Has he come here?" The LORD answered, "He is hiding among the baggage."
23 So they ran and fetched him out and, as he stood among the people, he was head and shoulderstal er than any of them.	23 They ran to bring him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was head and shoulders above all the crowd.
24 Samuel then said to all the people, 'You have seen the man whom Yahweh has chosen, and thatamong the whole people he has no equal.' And all the people acclaimed him, shouting, 'Long live the king!'	24 Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people!" Then all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
25 Samuel then explained the king's constitutional position to the people and inscribed this in a bookwhich he placed before Yahweh. Samuel then sent al the people away, everyone back to his home.	25 Samuel next explained to the people the law of royalty and wrote it in a book, which he placed in the presence of the LORD. This done, Samuel dismissed the people, each to his own place.
26 Saul too went home to Gibeah and with him went those strong men whose hearts God had touched.	26 Saul also went home to Gibeah, accompanied by warriors whose hearts the LORD had touched.
27 But there were some scoundrels who said, 'How can this fellow save us?' These treated him withcontempt and offered him no present.	27 But certain worthless men said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no present.