1 Samuel 9 And there was a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Jared, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a man of might.

CAB⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ And there was a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Jared, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a man of might. ² And this man had a son, and his name was Saul, of great stature, a handsome man. And there was not a more handsome man among the sons of Israel than he, high above all the people, from his shoulders and upward. ³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take with you one of the young men, and arise, go and look for the donkeys. ⁴ And they went through Mount Ephraim, and they went through the land of Shalisha, and found them not. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then they passed through the land of the Benjamites, and found them not. ⁵ And when they came to Zuph, Saul said to his young man that was with him, Come and let us return, lest my father leave the donkeys, and take care for us. ⁶ And the young man said to him, Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is of high repute; all that he shall speak will surely come to pass. Now then let us go, that he may tell us our way on which we have set out. ⁷ And Saul said to his young man that was with him, But look, if we should go, what shall we bring the man of God? For the loaves are spent out of our vessels, and we have nothing more with us that belongs to us to bring to the man of God. ⁸ And the young man answered Saul again and said, Behold, I have here in my hand a fourth part of a shekel of silver, and you shall give it to the man of God, and he shall tell us our way. ⁹ Now formerly in Israel, everyone who went to inquire of God said, Come and let us go to the seer; for the people formerly called the prophet, the seer. ¹⁰ And Saul said to his servant, Well said, come and let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was. ¹¹ As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young women coming out to draw water, and they say to them, Is the seer here? ¹² And the virgins answered them, and said to them, He is here: behold, he is before you. Now he is coming to the city, because of the day, for today there is a sacrifice for the people on the high place. ¹³ As soon as you shall enter into the city, so shall you find him in the city, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he comes in, for he blesses the sacrifice, and afterwards the guests eat. Now then go up, for you shall find him because of the holiday. ¹⁴ And they went up to the city. And as they were entering into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel came out to meet them, to go up to the high place. ¹⁵ And the Lord uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before Saul came to him, saying, ¹⁶ At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over My people Israel, and he shall save My people out of the hand of the Philistines, for I have looked upon the humiliation of My people, for their cry has come unto Me. ¹⁷ And Samuel looked upon Saul, and the Lord answered him, Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you; this one shall rule over My people. ¹⁸ And Saul drew near to Samuel into the midst of the city, and said, Tell me, now which is the house of the seer? ¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am he: go up before me to the high place, and eat with me today, and I will send you away in the morning, and I will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰ And concerning your donkeys that have been lost now these three days, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And to whom does the excellency of Israel belong? Does it not belong to you, and to your father's house? ²¹ And Saul answered and said, Am I not the son of a Benjamite, the least tribe of the people of Israel? And of the least family of the whole tribe of Benjamin? And why have you spoken to me according to this word? ²² And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them to the inn, and set them there a place among the chief of those that were called, about seventy men. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, Give me the portion which I gave you, which I told you to set aside. ²⁴ Now the cook had boiled the shoulder, and he set it before Saul. And Samuel said to Saul, Behold that which is left, set before you, and eat; for it is set there for a testimony in preference to the others; take of it. So Saul ate with Samuel on that day. ²⁵ And he went down from the high place into the city, and they prepared a lodging for Saul on the roof, and he lay down. ²⁶ An it came to pass when the morning dawned, that Samuel called Saul on the roof, saying, Rise up, and I will dismiss you. And Saul arose, and he and Samuel went out. ²⁷ As they went down to a part of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Speak to the young man, and let him pass on before us. But you stand here now, and listen to the word of God.