I Samuel Chapter 10

I Samuel 10 — English translation

Translation: THE JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition. Verse numbers match the Hebrew text below.

1. 1Samuel took a flask of oil and poured some on Saul’s head and kissed him, and said, “G OD herewith anoints you ruler over this people—God’s own.
2. 2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near the tomb of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they will tell you that the donkeys you set out to look for have been found, and that your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying: ‘What shall I do about my son?’
3. 3You shall pass on from there until you come to the terebinth of Tabor. There you will be met by three men making a pilgrimage to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three kids, another will be carrying three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a jar of wine.
4. 4They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept.
5. 5After that, you are to go on to the Hill of God, where the Philistine prefects reside. There, as you enter the town, you will encounter a band of prophets coming down from the shrine, preceded by lyres, hand-drums, flutes, and harps, and they will be speaking in ecstasy.
6. 6The spirit of G OD will grip you, and you will speak in ecstasy along with them; you will become a different person.
7. 7And once these signs have happened to you, act when the occasion arises, for God is with you.
8. 8After that, you are to go down to Gilgal ahead of me, and I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Wait seven days until I come to you and instruct you what you are to do next.”
9. 9As [Saul] turned around to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs were fulfilled that same day.
10. 10And when they came there, to the Hill, he saw a band of prophets coming toward him. Thereupon the spirit of God gripped him, and he spoke in ecstasy among them.
11. 11When all who knew him previously saw him speaking in ecstasy together with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What’s happened to the son of Kish?) of…” is slighting; cf. 20.27, 30, 31; Isa. 7.4. Is Saul too among the prophets?”
12. 12But another fellow there spoke up and said, “And who are their fathers?” Thus the proverb arose: “Is Saul too among the prophets?”
13. 13And when he stopped speaking in ecstasy, he entered the shrine.
14. 14Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the donkeys,” he replied. “And when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15. 15“Tell me,” said Saul’s uncle, “what did Samuel say to you?”
16. 16Saul answered his uncle, “He just told us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him anything of what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17. 17Samuel summoned the people to G OD at Mizpah
18. 18and said to them, “Thus said the E TERNAL , the God of Israel: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’
19. 19But today you have rejected your God who delivered you from all your troubles and calamities. For you said, ‘No, set up a king over us!’ Now station yourselves before G OD , by your tribes and clans.”
20. 20Samuel brought forward each of the tribes of Israel, and the lot indicated the tribe of Benjamin.
21. 21Then Samuel brought forward the tribe of Benjamin by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was indicated; and then Saul son of Kish was indicated. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found.
22. 22They inquired of G OD again, “Has anyone else come here?” And G OD replied, “Yes; he is hiding among the baggage.”
23. 23So they ran over and brought him from there; and when he took his place among the people, he stood a head taller than all the people.
24. 24And Samuel said to the people, “Do you see the one whom G OD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people acclaimed him, shouting, “Long live the king!”
25. 25Samuel expounded to the people the rules of the monarchy, and recorded them in a document that he deposited before G OD . Samuel then sent the people back to their homes.
26. 26Saul also went home to Gibeah, accompanied by upstanding men as the equivalent of bene ḥayil , as read by Septuagint and 4QSamᵃ. whose hearts God had touched.
27. 27But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” So they scorned him and brought him no gift. But he pretended not to mind.

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