CHAPTER 9
1 And there was a man of Benjamin, that was called Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a man that was called Benjamin (or a Benjamite), a strong man in bodily might.
2 And to him was a son, Saul by name, chosen and good(ly); and no man of the sons of Israel was better than he; (and) from the shoulder(s) and above, he appeared over all the people.
3 And the she-asses of Kish, the father of Saul, were lost, (or And one day the female donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, went missing). And Kish said to Saul his son, Take with thee one of the servants, and rise thou, and go seek the she-asses.
4 And when they had gone forth by the hill (country) of Ephraim, and by the land of Shalisha, and they had not found them, they passed forth also by the land of Shalim, and they were not there; but also they passed by the land of Benjamin, and yet they found (them) not.
5 And when they had come into the land of Zuph, and had not found (them), Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come thou, and turn we again; lest peradventure my father hath left (off caring about) the female asses, and is busy for us (or and is now concerned about us).
6 And the servant said to him, Lo! a man of God is in this city, a noble man; all thing that he speaketh, cometh without (a) doubt. Now therefore go we thither, if peradventure he show to us of our way, for which we came, (or And so now let us go there, perhaps he can show us the way that we should go).
7 And Saul said to his servant, Lo! we shall go (there); (but) what shall we bear to the man of God? Bread hath failed in our scrips, and we have no present, that we (can) give to the man of God, neither any other thing.
8 Again the servant answered to Saul, and said, Lo! the fourth part of a stater, that is, a shekel, of silver is found (here) in mine hand; give we it to the man of God, that he show to us our way (or so that he will show us the way that we should go).
9 Sometime in Israel each man going to counsel with God spake thus, Come ye, and go we to the seer; for he, that is said now a prophet, was called sometime a seer, (or for he, who now is called a prophet, before was called a seer).
10 And Saul said to his servant, Thy word is the best; come thou, go we. And they went into the city, in which the man of God was, (or And they went to the city, where the man of God was).
11 And when they went up into the highness of the city, they found damsels going out to draw water, and they said to the damsels, Whether the seer is here? (or Is the seer here?)
12 And the damsels answered, and said to them, He is here; lo! he is before thee; haste thou now, for today he came into the city; for today is sacrifice of the people in the high place. (And the young women answered, and said to them, He is here; behold! he is ahead of thee; haste thou now, for he came into the city today; for there is a sacrifice by all the people at the hill shrine today.)
13 Ye shall enter into the city, and at once ye shall find him, before that he ascend into the high place to eat; for the people shall not eat till he come, for he shall (first) bless the sacrifice, and afterward they shall eat that be called (or and then afterward they who be called shall eat). Now therefore go ye up, for today ye shall find him.
14 And they went up into the city. And when they went into the midst of the city, Samuel appeared going out against them, that he should go up into the high place, (or Samuel appeared coming out toward them, as he went on his way up to the hill shrine).
15 And the day before that Saul came, the Lord (had) made (a) revelation in the ear of Samuel, and said,
16 In this same hour which is now, tomorrow, I shall send to thee a man of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him duke upon my people Israel (or and thou shalt anoint him the ruler over my people Israel), and he shall save my people from the hand(s) of (the) Philistines; for I have beheld my people, forsooth their cry hath come to me.
17 And when Samuel had beheld Saul, the Lord said to Samuel, Lo! the man, (of) whom I said to thee; this man shall be lord of my people.
18 And Saul nighed to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and said, I pray thee, show thou to me, where is the house of the seer?
19 And Samuel answered to Saul, and said, I am the seer; go thou up before me into the high place, that thou eat with me today, and I shall deliver thee in the morrowtide, and I shall show to thee all things that be in thine heart. (And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer; go thou up before me, or ahead of me, to the hill shrine, and thou shalt eat with me today, and in the morning I shall let thee go, after that I show thee all the things that be in thy heart.)
20 And be thou not busy of the female asses, which thou lostest the third day ago, for those be found; and whose shall be all the best things of Israel, whether not to thee, and to all the house of thy father? (And be thou not concerned about the female donkeys, which went missing three days ago, for they be found; and now I ask thee, who shall be regarded as the very best in Israel, whether not thee, and all of thy father’s family?)
21 And Saul answered, and said, Whether I am not a son of Benjamin, of the least lineage of Israel, and my kindred is the last among all the families of the lineage of Benjamin? Why therefore hast thou spoken to me this word? (And Saul answered, Am I not a Benjaminite, yea, of the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my kindred, or my family, the least among all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then hast thou spoken such a word to me?)
22 And so Samuel took Saul, and his servant, and led them into the chamber of three orders (of seats, or benches), and he gave to them a place in the beginning of them that were called, (or bidden to the meat); for they were as thirty men. (And then Samuel took Saul, and his servant, and led them into a chamber with three rows of seats, or benches, and he gave them a place at the head of those who were called, or were bidden to the meal; for there were about thirty men there.)
23 And Samuel said to the cook, Give thou the part which I gave to thee (or Bring thou out the portion which I gave thee), and commanded, that thou shouldest keep (it) by itself with thee.
24 And the cook took up a shoulder, and he set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Lo! that, that hath (been) left, take before thee, and eat; for of (this) purpose it was kept to thee, when I called the people hither. And Saul ate with Samuel that day. (And the cook took up a shoulder, and he put it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold! that which was kept, take for thyself, and now eat it; for it was kept for thee for this purpose, when I called the people here. And so Saul ate with Samuel that day.)
25 And they came down from the high place into the city; and Samuel spake with Saul in the solar, and Saul arrayed a bed in the solar (for himself), and slept. (And then they came down from the hill shrine into the city; and Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof, and then Saul arrayed a bed for himself on the roof, and slept.)
26 And when they had risen early, and the day began to be clear, Samuel called Saul into the solar, and said, Rise thou up, that I deliver thee, (or Samuel called to Saul on the roof, and said, Rise thou up, so that I can let thee go). And Saul rose up, and both went out, that is, he, and Samuel.
27 And when they went down in(to) the last part of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Say thou to the servant, that he go before us, and pass [forth]; forsooth stand thou [still] a little, that I show to thee the word of the Lord, (or but thou stand here for a little while, so that I can tell thee the word of the Lord).