¹ Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name, was Kish—son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjamite,—a mighty man of valour;

² and, he, had a son, whose name, was Saul, a choice young man and of noble appearance, and there was not a man of the sons of Israel, more noble than he,—from his shoulders and upwards, was he taller than any of the people.

³ Now there had gone astray asses belonging to Kish, Saul’s father,—so Kish said unto Saul his son—I pray thee, take with thee one of the young men, and arise—go, seek the asses.

⁴ And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not,—then passed they through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there, then passed he through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.

⁵ They, had come into the land of Zuph when, Saul, said to his young man who was with him, Come! and let us return; lest my father leave off [caring] for the asses, and be concerned for us.

⁶ And he said to him: Lo! I pray thee, a man of God, [liveth] in this city, and, the man, is held in honour, all that he saith, surely cometh to pass. Now, let us go thither; peradventure he may tell us our way, whereon we should have gone.

⁷ Then said Saul to his young man: Behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man, for, the bread, hath failed from our sacks, and, present, there is none to bring to the man of God,—what is there with us?

⁸ And the young man again answered Saul, and said—Lo! there is found in my hand, the fourth part of a shekel of silver,—which thou canst give to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.

⁹ Beforetime, in Israel, thus, said a man when he went to enquire of God, Come and let us go as far as the seer,—for, the prophet of to-day, used to be called, beforetime, the seer.

¹⁰ And Saul said unto his young man, Good, is thy word, come! let us go! So they went unto the city, where the man of God was.

¹¹ They were going up the ascent of the city, when they found young women, coming out to draw water,—so they said unto these, Is, the seer, in this place?

¹² And the young women answered them and said: He is, lo! before you now, even as, to-day, hath he entered the city, for the people have a sacrifice, to-day, in the high place.

¹³ As ye enter the city, so, shall ye surely find him, ere yet he shall go up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he hath come, for, he, doth bless the sacrifice, after that, will they eat who have been bidden. Now, therefore, go up, for, about this very time, shall ye surely find him.

¹⁴ So they went up into the city. As they were entering into the midst of the city, lo! Samuel, coming out over against them, to ascend the high place.

¹⁵ Now, Yahweh, had unveiled the ear of Samuel,—one day before Saul came, saying:

¹⁶ About this time to-morrow, will I send unto thee, a man out of the land of Benjamin, whom thou shalt anoint, to be leader over my people Israel, and he shall save my people, out of the hand of the Philistines,—for I have looked upon the oppression, because their outcry hath come in unto me.

¹⁷ And, when, Samuel, beheld Saul, Yahweh, answered him, Lo! the man, of whom I said unto thee, Here, is one shall control my people.

¹⁸ And Saul drew near unto Samuel, in the midst of the gate,—and said—I pray thee, do tell me, where is the house of the seer?

¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul, and said—I, am, the seer! Go up before me, to the high place, so shall ye eat with me, to-day,—and I will let thee go in the morning, and, all that is in thy heart, will I tell thee.

²⁰ And, as for the asses that went astray from thee three days ago, do not regard them, for they are found,—but to whom belongeth all that is desirable in Israel? is it not to thee, and to all the house of thy father?

²¹ Then answered Saul, and said—Am not I, a man of Benjamin, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and [is not], my family, the poorest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore, then, hast thou spoken unto me of such a thing as this?

²² And Samuel took Saul and his young man, and brought them into the guest-chamber,—and gave them a place at the head of them who were bidden, they being about thirty persons.

²³ And Samuel said to the cook, Set on the portion that I gave thee,—of which I said unto thee, Put it by thee.

²⁴ And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and placed it before Saul, and said—Lo! the part reserved! Set it before thee [and] eat, for, unto the time appointed, hath it been kept for thee, since the time that I said, The people, have I bidden. So Saul did eat with Samuel, on that day.

²⁵ And, when they had come down from the high place into the city, he spread a couch for Saul upon the house-top, and he lay down.

²⁶ And it came to pass, at the uprisings of the dawn, that Samuel called unto Saul on the house-top, saying, Arise! that I may send thee away. So Saul arose, and they two, he and Samuel, went forth abroad.

²⁷ As they were going down the end of the city, Samuel, said unto Saul—Bid the young man, that he pass on before us, (and he passed on) but, thou, stand still where thou art, that I may let thee hear the word of God.