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, a strong man in bodily might.
2 And to him was a son, Saul by name, chosen and goodly; and no man of the sons of Israel was better than he; from the shoulders and above, he appeared over all the people.
3 And the she-asses of Kish, the father of Saul, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take with thee one of the children, and rise thou, and go seek the she-asses.
4 And when they had gone forth by the hill 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 child 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.
6 And the child said to him, Lo! a man of God is in this city, a noble man; all thing that he speaketh, cometh without doubt. Now therefore go we thither, if peradventure he show to us of our way, for which we came.
7 And Saul said to his child, Lo! we shall go there; 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 child answered to Saul, and said, Lo! the fourth part of a stater, that is, a shekel, of silver is found in mine hand; give we it to the man of God, that he show to us our way.
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.
10 And Saul said to his child, Thy word is the best; come thou, go we. And they went into the city, in which 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?
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.
13 Ye shall enter into the city, and at once ye shall find him, before that he ascend [or go up] 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. 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.
15 And the day before that Saul came, the Lord made 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, and he shall save my people from the hands of 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, 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.
20 And be thou not busy of the female asses, which thou lostest the third day ago, for those [or they] be found; and whose shall be all the best things of Israel, whether not to thee, and to all the house of thy father?
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 meines of the lineage of Benjamin? Why therefore hast thou spoken to me this word?
22 And so Samuel took Saul, and his child, 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.
23 And Samuel said to the cook, Give thou the part which I gave to thee, and commanded, that thou shouldest keep by itself with thee.
24 And the cook took up a shoulder, and he set [or put] 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.
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, 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. And Saul rose up, and both went out, that is, he, and Samuel.
27 And when they went down into the last part of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Say thou to the child, that he go before us, and pass [forth]; forsooth stand thou [still] a little, that I show to thee the word of the Lord.