March 29

1 Samuel 10:1 — 12:25

10 Samuel then took the flask of oil and poured it out upon his head and kissed him and said: “Is it not because Jehovah has anointed you as a leader over his inheritance? 2 On your going away from me today you will certainly find two men close by the tomb of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will certainly say to you, ‘The she-asses that you have gone to look for have been found, but now your father has given up the matter of the she-asses and has become anxious about YOU men, saying: “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 And you must pass on from there still farther and come as far as the big tree of Tabor, and there there must encounter you three men going up to the [true] God at Bethel, one carrying three kids and one carrying three round loaves of bread and one carrying a large jar of wine. 4 And they will certainly ask about your welfare and give you two loaves, and you must accept them from their hand. 5 It is after that that you will come to the hill of the [true] God, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And it should come about that at the time of your coming there to the city, you will certainly meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, and ahead of them a stringed instrument and tambourine and flute and harp, while they are speaking as prophets. 6 And the spirit of Jehovah will certainly become operative upon you, and you will certainly speak as a prophet along with them and be changed into another man. 7 And it must occur that when these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds possible, because the [true] God is with you. 8 And you must go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and, look! I am going down to you to offer up burnt sacrifices, to render up communion sacrifices. Seven days you should keep waiting until my coming to you, and I shall certainly let you know what you should do.”

9 And it occurred that as soon as he turned his shoulder to go from Samuel, God began changing the heart of his into another; and all these signs proceeded to come true on that day. 10 So they went from there to the hill, and here there was a group of prophets to meet him; at once the spirit of God became operative upon him, and he began to speak as a prophet in the middle of them. 11 And it came about that when all those knowing him formerly saw him, look! it was with prophets that he prophesied. Consequently the people said one to another: “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 Then a man from there answered and said: “But who is their father?” That is why it has become a proverbial saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

13 At length he finished speaking as a prophet and came to the high place. 14 Later the brother of Saul’s father said to him and to his attendant: “Where did YOU go?” Upon that he said: “To look for the she-asses, and we kept on going to see, but they were not [there]. So we came to Samuel.” 15 At this Saul’s uncle said: “Do tell me, please, What did Samuel say to YOU men?” 16 In turn Saul said to his uncle: “He told us unmistakably that the she-asses had been found.” And the matter of the kingship about which Samuel had talked, he did not tell him.

17 And Samuel proceeded to call the people together to Jehovah at Mizpah 18 and to say to the sons of Israel: “This is what Jehovah the God of Israel has said, ‘It was I who brought Israel up out of Egypt and who went delivering YOU from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing YOU. 19 But YOU—today YOU have rejected YOUR God who was a savior to YOU out of all YOUR evils and YOUR distresses, and YOU went on to say: “No, but a king is what you should put over us.” And now take YOUR stand before Jehovah by YOUR tribes and by YOUR thousands.’”

20 Accordingly Samuel had all the tribes of Israel draw near, and the tribe of Benjamin came to be picked. 21 Then he had the tribe of Benjamin draw near by its families, and the family of the Matrites came to be picked. Finally Saul the son of Kish came to be picked. And they went looking for him, and he was not to be found. 22 Hence they inquired further of Jehovah: “Has the man come here as yet?” To this Jehovah said: “Here he is, hidden among the luggage.” 23 So they went running and took him from there. When he took his stand in the middle of the people, he was taller than all the other people from his shoulders upward. 24 Then Samuel said to all the people: “Have YOU seen the one whom Jehovah has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?” And all the people began to shout and say: “Let the king live!”

25 Upon that Samuel spoke to the people about the rightful due of the kingship and wrote it in a book and deposited it before Jehovah. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. 26 As for Saul himself, he went to his home at Gibeah, and the valiant men whose heart God had touched proceeded to go with him. 27 As for the good-for-nothing men, they said: “How will this one save us?” Accordingly they despised him, and they did not bring any gift to him. But he continued like one grown speechless.


11 And Nahash the Ammonite proceeded to go up and camp against Jabesh in Gilead. At that all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash: “Conclude a covenant with us that we may serve you.” 2 Then Nahash the Ammonite said to them: “On this condition I shall conclude it with YOU, on the condition of boring out every right eye of YOURS, and I must put it as a reproach upon all Israel.” 3 In turn the older men of Jabesh said to him: “Give us seven days’ time, and we will send messengers into all the territory of Israel and, if there is no savior of us, we must then go out to you.” 4 In time the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke the words in the ears of the people, and all the people began raising their voice and weeping.

5 But here is Saul coming after the herd from the field, and Saul proceeded to say: “What is the matter with the people, that they should weep?” And they began relating to him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the spirit of God became operative upon Saul on his hearing these words, and his anger got very hot. 7 So he took a pair of bulls and cut them in pieces and sent these into all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying: “Whoever of us is not going out as a follower of Saul and of Samuel, this is the way it will be done to his cattle!” And the dread of Jehovah began to fall upon the people so that they came out as one man. 8 Then he took the sum of them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel amounted to three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 They now said to the messengers that had come: “This is what YOU will say to the men of Jabesh in Gilead, ‘Tomorrow salvation will take place for YOU when the sun gets hot.’” With that the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, and they gave way to rejoicing. 10 Accordingly the men of Jabesh said: “Tomorrow we shall come out to YOU people, and YOU must do to us in harmony with all that is good in YOUR eyes.”

11 And it came about on the next day that Saul proceeded to put the people into three bands; and they made their way into the middle of the camp during the morning watch and went striking down the Ammonites till the day grew hot. When there proved to be some that were left over, then they were sent scattering and there were not left over among them two together. 12 And the people began to say to Samuel: “Who is it saying, ‘Saul—is he to be king over us?’ GIVE the men over, that we may put them to death.” 13 However, Saul said: “Not a man should be put to death on this day, because today Jehovah has performed salvation in Israel.”

14 Later Samuel said to the people: “Come and let us go to Gilgal that we may there make the kingship anew.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they proceeded to make Saul king before Jehovah in Gilgal. Then they rendered up communion sacrifices there before Jehovah, and there Saul and all the men of Israel continued rejoicing to a great degree.

12 Finally Samuel said to all Israel: “Here I have listened to YOUR voice as respects all that YOU have said to me, that I should cause a king to reign over YOU. 2 And now here is the king walking before YOU! As for me, I have grown old and gray, and my sons, here they are with YOU, and I—I have walked before YOU from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am. Answer against me in front of Jehovah and in front of his anointed one: Whose bull have I taken or whose ass have I taken or whom have I defrauded or whom have I crushed or from whose hand have I accepted hush money that I should hide my eyes with it? And I shall make restoration to YOU people.” 4 To this they said: “You have not defrauded us, nor have you crushed us, nor have you accepted anything at all from the hand of a single one.” 5 So he said to them: “Jehovah is a witness against YOU, and his anointed one is a witness this day that YOU have found nothing at all in my hand.” To this they said: “He is a witness.”

6 And Samuel went on to say to the people: “Jehovah [is a witness], who used Moses and Aaron and who brought YOUR forefathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 And now take YOUR stand, and I will judge YOU before Jehovah [and recount to YOU] all the righteous acts of Jehovah that he has done with YOU and with YOUR forefathers.

8 “As soon as Jacob had come into Egypt and YOUR forefathers began calling to Jehovah for aid, Jehovah proceeded to send Moses and Aaron, that they might lead YOUR forefathers out from Egypt and cause them to dwell in this place. 9 And they went forgetting Jehovah their God, so that he sold them into the hand of Sisera the chief of the army of Hazor and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they kept fighting against them. 10 And they began to call to Jehovah for aid and say, ‘We have sinned, for we have left Jehovah that we might serve the Baals and the Ashtoreth images; and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And Jehovah proceeded to send Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel and deliver YOU out of the hand of YOUR enemies all around, that YOU might dwell in security. 12 When YOU saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon had come against YOU, YOU kept saying to me, ‘No, but a king is what should reign over us!’ all the while Jehovah YOUR God being YOUR King. 13 And now here is the king whom YOU have chosen, for whom YOU asked; and here Jehovah has put over YOU a king. 14 If YOU will fear Jehovah and actually serve him and obey his voice, and YOU will not rebel against the order of Jehovah, both YOU and the king who must reign over YOU will certainly prove to be followers of Jehovah YOUR God. 15 But if YOU will not obey the voice of Jehovah and YOU will actually rebel against the order of Jehovah, the hand of Jehovah will certainly prove to be against YOU and YOUR fathers. 16 Now, also, take YOUR stand and see this great thing that Jehovah is doing before YOUR eyes. 17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I shall call to Jehovah that he may give thunders and rain; then know and see that YOUR evil is abundant that YOU have done in the eyes of Jehovah in asking for yourselves a king.”

18 Upon that Samuel called to Jehovah, and Jehovah proceeded to give thunders and rain on that day, so that all the people were greatly in fear of Jehovah and of Samuel. 19 And all the people began to say to Samuel: “Pray in behalf of your servants to Jehovah your God, as we do not want to die; because we have added to all our sins an evil in asking for ourselves a king.”

20 So Samuel said to the people: “Do not be afraid. YOU—YOU have done all this evil. Only do not turn aside from following Jehovah, and YOU must serve Jehovah with all YOUR heart. 21 And YOU must not turn aside to follow the unrealities that are of no benefit and that do not deliver, because they are unrealities. 22 For Jehovah will not desert his people for the sake of his great name, because Jehovah has taken it upon himself to make YOU his people. 23 As for me also, it is unthinkable, on my part, to sin against Jehovah by ceasing to pray in YOUR behalf; and I must instruct YOU in the good and right way. 24 Only fear Jehovah, and YOU must serve him in truth with all YOUR heart; for see what great things he has done for YOU. 25 But if YOU flagrantly do what is bad, YOU will be swept away, both YOU and YOUR king.”