Parallel Bible results for "1 samuel 9"

1 Samuel 9

Third Millennium Bible TMB

1 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly; and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

3 And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, "Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses."

4 And he passed through Mount Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not; and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.

5 And when they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, and let us return, lest my father leave caring for the asses and take thought for us."

6 And he said unto him, "Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man. All that he saith cometh surely to pass. Now let us go thither. Perhaps he can show us our way that we should go."

7 Then said Saul to his servant, "But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What have we?"

8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, "Behold, I have here at hand a fourth part of a shekel of silver. That will I give to the man of God to tell us our way."

9 (Before this in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spoke: "Come, and let us go to the seer"; for he that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)

10 Then said Saul to his servant, "Well said; come, let us go." So they went unto the city where the man of God was.

11 And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, "Is the seer here?"

12 And they answered them and said, "He is; behold, he is before you. Make haste now, for he came today to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.

13 As soon as ye have come into the city, ye shall straightway find him before he go up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up, for about this time ye shall find him."

14 And they went up into the city; and when they had come into the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them to go up to the high place.

15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,

16 "Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over My people Israel, that he may save My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come unto Me."

17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, "Behold the man whom I spoke to thee of! This same shall reign over My people."

18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, "Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is."

19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me today, and tomorrow I will let thee go and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.

20 And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them, for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee and on all thy father's house?"

21 And Saul answered and said, "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then speakest thou so to me?"

22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and made them sit in the chiefest place among those who were bidden, who were about thirty persons.

23 And Samuel said unto the cook, "Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, `Set it by thee.'"

24 And the cook took up the shoulder and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, "Behold that which is left! Set it before thee and eat; for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, `I have invited the people.'" So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 And when they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house.

26 And they arose early. And it came to pass about the dawn of the day that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, "Up, that I may send thee away." And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.

27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Bid the servant pass on before us." (And he passed on.) "But stand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God."

GOD'S WORD Translation GW

1 There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was a son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, and great-grandson of Becorath, whose father was Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a powerful man.

2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome, young man. No man in Israel was more handsome than Saul. He stood a head taller than everyone else.

3 When some donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, Kish told Saul, "Take one of the servants with you, and go look for the donkeys."

4 They went through the mountains of Ephraim and the region of Shalisha without finding the donkeys. Then Saul and his servant went through the region of Shaalim, but the donkeys weren't there. The men went through the territory of Benjamin but [still] didn't find them.

5 When they came to the territory of Zuph, Saul told his servant who was with him, "Let's go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about us [instead]."

6 The servant responded, "There's a man of God in this city, a highly respected man. Everything he says is sure to happen. Let's go there. Maybe he'll tell us which way we should go."

7 "If we go," Saul asked his servant, "what could we bring the man since the food in our sacks is gone? There's no present we can bring the man of God. What do we have?"

8 The servant again answered Saul, "Look, here! I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. I'll give it to the man of God. Then he'll tell us where to find the donkeys."

9 (Formerly in Israel, when a person went to ask God [a question], he would say, "Come, let's go to the seer," because a person we now call a prophet used to be called a seer.)

10 Saul told his servant, "That's a good idea! Come on, let's go." They went to the city where the man of God was.

11 As they were going up the hill to the city, they met girls coming out to get water. They asked the girls, "Is the seer here?"

12 The girls answered, "He's there ahead of you. Hurry! He [just] went into the city today since the people are offering a sacrifice on the worship site.

13 As you go into the city, you can find him before he goes to the worship site to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, since he blesses the sacrifice. Then those who are invited may eat. Go. You should be able to find him now."

14 So Saul and his servant went to the city. As they entered it, Samuel was coming toward them on his way to the worship site.

15 Now, the LORD had revealed the following message to Samuel one day before Saul came:

16 "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the territory of Benjamin. Anoint him to be ruler of my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines because I've seen my people's [suffering] and their cry has come to me."

17 When Samuel noticed Saul, the LORD told him, "There's the man I told you about. This man will govern my people."

18 Saul approached Samuel inside the gateway and said, "Please tell me where the seer's house is."

19 Samuel replied, "I'm the seer. Go ahead of me to the worship site. You will eat with me today. In the morning I'll let you go after I tell you all that's on your mind.

20 Don't trouble yourself about the donkeys that were lost three days ago because they've been found. Who will have all that is desirable in Israel? Won't it be you and your father's family?"

21 Saul replied, "I am a man from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe of Israel. My family is the most insignificant of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. So why are you saying such things to me?"

22 Samuel brought Saul and his servant to the banquet hall and had them sit at the head of the guests--about 30 people.

23 Samuel said to the cook, "Bring me the portion of the sacrificial meat that I gave you and told you to put aside."

24 So the cook picked up the leg and thigh and laid it in front of Saul. Samuel said, "This was kept in order to be laid in front of you. Eat it. When I invited people to the feast, I set it aside for you." Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 Then they left the worship site for the city. They spread blankets on the roof for Saul, and he slept there.

26 At dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get up! [It's time for] me to send you away." Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside.

27 As they were going toward the city limits, Samuel told Saul, "Have the servant go ahead of you." (He went ahead.) "But you stay here, and I will tell you God's word."