1 Samuel 10–12

¹And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, ‘Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader? ²In thy going to-day from me—then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

³‘And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine, ⁴and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

⁵‘Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is, and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying; ⁶and prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man; ⁷and it hath been, when these signs come to thee—do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God is with thee.

⁸‘And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.’

⁹And it hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on that day, ¹⁰and they come in thither to the height, and lo, a band of prophets—to meet him, and prosper over him doth the Spirit of God, and he prophesieth in their midst. ¹¹And it cometh to pass, all his acquaintance heretofore, see, and lo, with prophets he hath prophesied, and the people say one unto another, ‘What is this hath happened to the son of Kish? is Saul also among the prophets?’ ¹²And a man thence answereth and saith, ‘And who is their father?’ therefore it hath been for a simile, ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’ ¹³And he ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place, ¹⁴and the uncle of Saul saith unto him, and unto his young man, ‘Whither went ye?’ and he saith, ‘To seek the asses; and we see that they are not, and we come in unto Samuel.’ ¹⁵And the uncle of Saul saith, ‘Declare, I pray thee, to me, what Samuel said to you?’ ¹⁶And Saul saith unto his uncle, ‘He certainly declared to us that the asses were found;’ and of the matter of the kingdom he hath not declared to him that which Samuel said.

¹⁷And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, ¹⁸and saith unto the sons of Israel, ‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms who are oppressing you; ¹⁹and ye to-day have rejected your God, who is Himself your saviour out of all your evils and your distresses, and ye say, ‘Nay, but—a king thou dost set over us; and now, station yourselves before Jehovah, by your tribes, and by your thousands.’ ²⁰And Samuel bringeth near the whole tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is captured, ²¹and he bringeth near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he hath not been found. ²²And they ask again at Jehovah, ‘Hath the man yet come hither?’ and Jehovah saith, ‘Lo, he hath been hidden near the vessels.’ ²³And they run and bring him thence, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he is higher than any of the people from his shoulder and upward. ²⁴And Samuel saith unto all the people, ‘Have ye seen him on whom Jehovah hath fixed, for there is none like him among all the people?’ And all the people shout, and say, ‘Let the king live!’ ²⁵And Samuel speaketh unto the people the right of the kingdom, and writeth in a book, and placeth before Jehovah; and Samuel sendeth all the people away, each to his house. ²⁶And also Saul hath gone to his house, to Gibeah, and the force go with him whose heart God hath touched; ²⁷and the sons of worthlessness have said, ‘What! this one doth save us!’ and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf.

Chapter 11

¹And Nahash the Ammonite cometh up, and encampeth against Jabesh-Gilead, and all the men of Jabesh say unto Nahash, ‘Make with us a covenant, and we serve thee.’ ²And Nahash the Ammonite saith unto them, ‘For this I covenant with you, by picking out to you every right eye—and I have put it a reproach on all Israel.’ ³And the elders of Jabesh say to him, ‘Let us alone seven days, and we send messengers into all the border of Israel: and if there is none saving us—then we have come out unto thee.’ ⁴And the messengers come to Gibeah of Saul, and speak the words in the ears of the people, and all the people lift up their voice and weep.

⁵And lo, Saul hath come after the herd out of the field, and Saul saith, ‘What—to the people, that they weep?’ and they recount to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶And the Spirit of God doth prosper over Saul, in his hearing these words, and his anger burneth greatly, ⁷and he taketh a couple of oxen, and cutteth them in pieces, and sendeth through all the border of Israel, by the hand of the messengers, saying, ‘He who is not coming out after Saul and after Samuel—thus it is done to his oxen;’ and the fear of Jehovah falleth on the people, and they come out as one man. ⁸And he inspecteth them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel are three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ⁹And they say to the messengers who are coming, ‘Thus do ye say to the men of Jabesh-Gilead: To-morrow ye have safety—by the heat of the sun;’ and the messengers come and declare to the men of Jabesh, and they rejoice; ¹⁰and the men of Jabesh say to the Ammonites, ‘To-morrow we come out unto you, and ye have done to us according to all that is good in your eyes.’ ¹¹And it cometh to pass, on the morrow, that Saul putteth the people in three detachments, and they come into the midst of the camp in the morning-watch, and smite Ammon till the heat of the day; and it cometh to pass that those left are scattered, and there have not been left of them two together.

¹²And the people say unto Samuel, ‘Who is he that saith, Saul doth reign over us! give ye up the men, and we put them to death.’ ¹³And Saul saith, ‘There is no man put to death on this day, for to-day hath Jehovah wrought salvation in Israel.’ ¹⁴And Samuel saith unto the people, ‘Come and we go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there;’ ¹⁵and all the people go to Gilgal, and cause Saul to reign there before Jehovah in Gilgal, and sacrifice there sacrifices of peace-offerings before Jehovah, and there Saul rejoiceth—and all the men of Israel—very greatly.

Chapter 12

¹And Samuel saith unto all Israel, ‘Lo, I have hearkened to your voice, to all that ye said to me, and I cause to reign over you a king, ²and now, lo, the king is walking habitually before you, and I have become aged and gray-headed, and my sons, lo, they are with you, and I have walked habitually before you from my youth till this day.

³‘Lo, here am I; testify against me, over-against Jehovah, and over-against His anointed; whose ox have I taken, and whose ass have I taken, and whom have I oppressed; whom have I bruised, and of whose hand have I taken a ransom, and hide mine eyes with it?—and I restore to you.’ ⁴And they say, ‘Thou hast not oppressed us, nor hast thou crushed us, nor hast thou taken from the hand of any one anything.’ ⁵And he saith unto them, ‘A witness is Jehovah against you: and a witness is His anointed this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand;’ and they say, ‘A witness.’

⁶And Samuel saith unto the people, ‘Jehovah—He who made Moses and Aaron, and who brought up your fathers out of the land of Egypt! ⁷and, now, station yourselves, and I judge you before Jehovah, with all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which He did with you, and with your fathers.

⁸‘When Jacob hath come in to Egypt, and your fathers cry unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sendeth Moses and Aaron, and they bring out your fathers from Egypt, and cause them to dwell in this place, ⁹and they forget Jehovah their God, and He selleth them into the hand of Sisera, head of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fight against them, ¹⁰and they cry unto Jehovah, and say, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and now, deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we serve Thee.

¹¹‘And Jehovah sendeth Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivereth you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and ye dwell confidently.

¹²‘And ye see that Nahash king of the Bene-Ammon hath come against you, and ye say to me, Nay, but a king doth reign over us; and Jehovah your God is your king! ¹³And, now, lo, the king whom ye have chosen—whom ye have asked! and lo, Jehovah hath placed over you a king.

¹⁴‘If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been—both ye and the king who hath reigned over you—after Jehovah your God.

¹⁵‘And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah—then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and against your fathers.

¹⁶‘Also now, station yourselves and see this great thing which Jehovah is doing before your eyes; ¹⁷is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I call unto Jehovah, and He doth give voices and rain; and know ye and see that your evil is great which ye have done in the…