Shmuel I - Chapter 10

1. And Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him. And he said, "Indeed, the Lord has anointed you to be a ruler over His inheritance.

2. When you go from me today, you will find two men by Rachel's tomb, in the border of Benjamin, in Zelzah, and they will say to you, The she-asses which you went to seek, were found. And your father had abandoned the matter of the she-asses, and is worried about you, saying, What shall I do about my son?

3. And you shall go on forward from there, and you shall come to the plain of Tabor, and there will meet you there three men, going up (to bow) to (God), to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and one carrying three loaves of bread, and one carrying an earthenware jug of wine.

4. And they will greet you, and give you two cakes of bread, and you shall take (them) from their hand.

5. Afterwards, you shall come to the hill of God, where there are Philistine officers, and it will be, that when you come there to the city, you will meet a band of prophets descending from the high place, and before them will be a psaltery and a drum, and a flute and a harp, and they will prophesy.

6. And the spirit of the Lord will pass over you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be turned into another man.

7. And it will be, that when these signs will come to you, do for yourself what your hand will find, for God is with you.

8. And you shall come down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I shall go down to you to offer up burnt offerings, and to slaughter peace-offerings. Seven days shall you wait until I come to you, and I shall let you know what you shall do."

9. And it was, when he turned his shoulder to go away from Samuel, that God gave him another heart, and all these signs came about on that day.

10. And they came there to the hill, and behold, a band of prophets (came) toward him, and the spirit of God passed upon him, and he prophesied in their midst.

11. And it was, that all who had known him before, saw that behold, he was prophesying with the prophets. And the people said to one another, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

12. And a man from there, answered and said, "And who was their father?" It, therefore became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

13. And he finished prophesying and came to the high place.

14. And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you go?" And he said, "To seek the she-asses. And when we saw that they were not (to be found), we came to Samuel."

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

16. And Saul said to his uncle, "He told us that the she-asses had been found," and the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him.

17. And Samuel called the people together unto God to Mizpah.

18. And he said to the children of Israel, "So said the Lord, God of Israel, 'I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kingdoms which oppressed you.'

19. And today you have rejected your God, Who saves you from all your adversities and your troubles, and you have said to Him, 'But, a king You shall set over us.' And now, stand before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands."

20. And Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21. And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near, by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken, and Saul, the son of Kish, was taken. And they sought him, but he was not found.

22. And they asked of the Lord further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the Lord said, "Behold, he is hidden among the baggage."

23. And they ran and took him from there, and he stood in the midst of the people, and he was taller than all the people from his shoulder and upward.

24. And Samuel said to all the people, "Have you seen (the one) whom the Lord has chosen, for there is none like him among all the people?" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"

25. And Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and he wrote (it) in a book, and placed (it) before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house.

26. And Saul too went to his house to Gibeah, and the band whose heart God had touched, went with him.

27. And unscrupulous men said, "How will this one save us?" And they despised him and brought him no gift. And he was as one who kept his peace.