1 Samuel 10

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
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 Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it on his head. And he kissed him, and said: “Behold, the Lord has anointed you as first ruler over his inheritance. And you shall free his people from the hands of their enemies, who are all around them. And this shall be a sign for you that God has anointed you as ruler:
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 will have departed from me this day, you will find two men beside the sepulcher of Rachel, in the parts of Benjamin to the south. And they will say to you: ‘The donkeys have been found, which you had been seeking as you traveled. And your father, forgetting about the donkeys, has been anxious for you, and he 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 And when you will have departed from there, and will have traveled farther, and will have arrived at the oak of Tabor, in that place three men, who are going up to God at Bethel, will find you. One will be bringing three young goats, and another three loaves of bread, and another will be carrying a bottle of wine.
4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you must accept from them.	4 And when they will have greeted you, they will give you two loaves. And you shall accept these from their hand.
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 these things, you shall arrive at the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. And when you will have entered the city there, you will meet a company of prophets, descending from the high place, with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp before them, and they will be prophesying.
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 And the Spirit of the Lord will spring up within you. And you shall prophesy with them, and you shall be changed into another man.
7 When these signs have occurred, act as occasion serves, for God is with you.	7 Therefore, when these signs will have happened to you, do whatever your hand will find, for the Lord 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 And you shall descend before me into Gilgal, (for I will descend to you), so that you may offer an oblation, and may immolate victims of peace. For seven days, you shall wait, until I come to you, and reveal to you what you should 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 And so, when he had turned his shoulder, so that he might go away from Samuel, God changed him to another heart. And all these signs occurred on that day.
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 And they arrived at the above-stated hill, and behold, a group of prophets met him. And the Spirit of the Lord leapt up within him, and he prophesied in their midst.
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 Then all those who had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and that he was prophesying, said to one other: “What is this thing that has happened to the son of Kish? Could Saul also be 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 one would respond to the other, saying, “And who is their father?” Because of this, it turned into a proverb, “Could Saul also be among the prophets?”
13 When he came out of his ecstasy, he went into Gibeah.	13 Then he ceased to prophesy, and he went to the high place.
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 And the uncle of Saul said to him, and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And they responded: “To seek the donkeys. But when we did not find them, we went to Samuel.”
15 Saul's uncle said, 'Tel me please what Samuel said to you.'	15 And his uncle said to him, “Tell me 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 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us that the donkeys would be found.” But the word about the kingdom, which Samuel had spoken to him, he did not reveal to him.
17 Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah	17 And 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 he said to the sons of Israel: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I led Israel away from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who were afflicting 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 alone saved you from all your evils and tribulations. And you have said: ‘By no means! Instead, appoint a king over us.’ Now therefore, stand in the sight of the Lord, by your tribes and by your families.”
20 Samuel then made al the tribes of Israel come forward, and the lot indicated the tribe of Benjamin.	20 And Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the lot fell upon the tribe of Benjamin.
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 And he brought near the tribe of Benjamin, with its families, and the lot fell upon the family of Matri. And then it went to Saul, the son of Kish. Therefore, they sought him, but he was not found.
22 Again they consulted Yahweh, 'Has the man come here?' Yahweh replied, 'There he is, hidingamong the baggage.'	22 And after these things, they consulted the Lord as to whether he would soon arrive there. And the Lord responded, “Behold, he is hidden at home.”
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 And so they ran and brought him there. And he stood in the midst of the people, and he was taller than the entire people, from the shoulders upward.
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 And Samuel said to all the people: “Certainly, you see the one whom the Lord has chosen, that there is not anyone like him among all the people.” And all the people cried out and said, “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 Then Samuel spoke to the people the law of the kingdom, and he wrote it in a book, and he stored it in the sight of the Lord. And Samuel dismissed all the people, each one to his own house.
26 Saul too went home to Gibeah and with him went those strong men whose hearts God had touched.	26 And then Saul went away to his own house at Gibeah. And a portion of the army, whose hearts had been touched by God, went away with him.
27 But there were some scoundrels who said, 'How can this fellow save us?' These treated him withcontempt and offered him no present.	27 Yet the sons of Belial said, “How could this one be able to save us?” And they despised him, and they brought him no presents. But he pretended not to hear them.