Samuel anoints Saul
1There was a Benjaminite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.
3Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, ‘Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.’ 4So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.
5When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, ‘Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.’
6But the servant replied, ‘Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.’
7Saul said to his servant, ‘If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?’
8The servant answered him again. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I have a quarter of a shekel9:8 That is, about 3 grams of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.’ 9(Formerly in Israel, if someone went to enquire of God, they would say, ‘Come, let us go to the seer,’ because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
10‘Good,’ Saul said to his servant. ‘Come, let’s go.’ So they set out for the town where the man of God was.
11As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, ‘Is the seer here?’
12‘He is,’ they answered. ‘He’s ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. 13As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterwards, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time.’
14They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming towards them on his way up to the high place.
15Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: 16‘About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.’
17When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, ‘This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.’
18Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, ‘Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?’
19‘I am the seer,’ Samuel replied. ‘Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?’
21Saul answered, ‘But am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?’
22Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited – about thirty in number. 23Samuel said to the cook, ‘Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside.’
24So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, ‘Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, “I have invited guests.” ’ And Saul dined with Samuel that day.
25After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. 26They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, ‘Get ready, and I will send you on your way.’ When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. 27As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the servant to go on ahead of us’ – and the servant did so – ‘but you stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.’
Saul og Samuel mødes
1Der var en rig og anset mand af Benjamins stamme, som hed Kish. Kish var søn af Abiel, som var søn af Zeror, som var søn af Bekorat, som var søn af Afia. 2Kish havde en søn, der hed Saul. Han var den flotteste fyr i hele Israel, og han var et hoved højere end nogen anden i landet.
3En dag var nogle af Kish’ æsler løbet væk. Derfor sagde han til Saul: „Tag en tjener med dig og gå ud og led efter dem.” 4Saul og hans tjener gennemsøgte Efraims højland, Shalisha-egnen, Shalim-egnen og hele Benjamins land uden at finde æslerne. 5Da de til sidst nåede Zuf-området, sagde Saul til tjeneren: „Lad os gå hjem. Nu er min far sikkert mere bekymret for os end for æslerne.”
6Men tjeneren svarede: „Ved du hvad? I den by dér bor der en Guds profet, som folk har stor respekt for, fordi alt, hvad han siger, sker. Lad os opsøge ham. Måske han kan fortælle os, hvor vi kan finde æslerne.”
7„Men vi har ingen penge med, så vi kan betale ham,” indvendte Saul. „Vi har ingen verdens ting, ikke engang et stykke brød.”
8„Jo,” svarede tjeneren. „Jeg har et lille stykke sølv, en kvart shekel. Den vil jeg give ham, så han kan sige os, hvad vi skal gøre.” 9-11„Godt,” sagde Saul. „Lad os så bare prøve.”
Så begav de sig op ad bakken mod byen, hvor profeten holdt til. Undervejs mødte de nogle unge piger, som var på vej ned for at hente vand, og de spurgte dem: „Er seeren hjemme?” (På den tid kaldte man endnu profeter for „seere”. „Lad os gå hen og spørge seeren,” sagde man, når man ville spørge Gud til råds).
12-13Pigerne svarede: „Jo, han er kommet til byen i dag, for der skal ofres et dyr på offerhøjen. Hvis I følger vejen lige frem og går ind i byen, vil I træffe ham der. Han går snart op til offerhøjen, for det er ham, der skal velsigne slagtofferet, og folk har ikke lov at spise af slagtofferet, før han kommer.”
14Så skyndte de sig op til byen, og netop som de kom til byporten, kom Samuel gående hen imod dem på vej til offerhøjen.
15Dagen før havde Herren sagt til Samuel: 16„I morgen ved denne tid sender jeg en mand fra Benjamins land til dig. Ham skal du salve til konge over mit folk. Han skal frelse folket fra filistrenes herredømme, for jeg har hørt folkets klageråb og har besluttet at hjælpe dem.”
17Da Samuel fik øje på Saul, sagde Herren til ham: „Det er den mand, jeg fortalte dig om. Han skal regere over mit folk.”
18I det samme henvendte Saul sig til Samuel dér i byporten og spurgte: „Kan du sige mig, hvor seeren bor?”
19„Det er mig, der er seeren,” svarede Samuel. „Gå foran mig op til offerhøjen. Så kan vi spise sammen, og i morgen tidlig skal jeg fortælle dig, hvad du ønsker at vide, og sende dig af sted. 20Du skal ikke bekymre dig om æslerne, der løb bort for tre dage siden. De er i god behold. Men hvem er det, hele Israels håb står til, om ikke det er til dig og din slægt?”
21„Hvordan kan du sige sådan noget,” indvendte Saul. „Jeg er jo fra Benjamins stamme, den mindste i hele Israel. Og min slægt er den mest ubetydelige i hele stammen!”
22Men Samuel førte Saul og hans tjener ind i gildesalen og gav dem hæderspladsen blandt de 30 indbudte gæster, 23og han sagde til kokken: „Kom med det fine stykke kød, som er forbeholdt hædersgæsten.” 24Kokken løftede kødet op og lagde det foran Saul. „Spis! Det er til dig,” sagde Samuel. „Jeg havde lagt det stykke til side til dig, så du ved denne lejlighed kunne spise det sammen med de øvrige gæster.”
Så spiste Saul sammen med Samuel. 25Derefter gik de ned fra offerhøjen. Da de var kommet tilbage til byen, blev der redt op til Saul på tagterrassen. 26-27Ved daggry næste morgen råbte Samuel op til Saul: „Stå op! Jeg vil følge dig på vej.” Så stod Saul op, og Samuel gik med dem et stykke hen ad vejen. Da de var nået til udkanten af byen, sagde Samuel til Saul: „Sig til tjeneren, at han skal gå i forvejen, men bliv du her lidt endnu. Herren har nemlig givet mig et særligt budskab til dig.”
