1 Samuele katola itenyana tje mafuta kaadila mu nsholo wa Saulo, kabe en'gumpatila ebe eti, “Yahwe bakubiga kube ntungamili we bathu babo Baiziraela. Unowobusa bathu ba Yahwe kakale unowobadusa mu maboko e zwita zwabo kupoteleka kose. Ngono ngwenu, etji nditjo tjinowobe tjilakidzo tjekuti Yahwe bakubiga kube ntungamili mu thaka yabo. 2 Kowoti udwa pandili nasi, unowoshangana ne balume babili pa ikumbu tja Rahele mu ntuthu wa Bhenjamini ku Zeleza, banowokudwa beti, ‘Madonki awakabe wanoshaka akabong'wa, tate babo abatjadziyidzika ngekwawo koga botjidziyidzika nge kuko beti, apa banowothamani ngekwe nkololo wabo kene?’ 3 Ndizo ha udwa ipapo uyendile mbeli kudzina unoswika pa nti we pakayengemala we Tabori, unowoshangana ne balume batatu ipapo, betathila ku Ndzimu ku Bhetele, mmwe akasenga mbudzana thatu, mmwe akasenga zwiwunga zwitatu, ngono mmwe akasenga gukhwa le nkumbi we zhambi. 4 Banowokudumilisa bakakupa zwiwunga zwibili, ngono iwe uzwiamutjile. 5 Kudwa ipapo unowonoswika ku Dombo le Ndzimu, pana kampa ye babhayani be Bafilisitiya, ngono unowoti uswika ikweno ku nzi, unowoshangana ne goko le balebesambeli bedeluka mu bugalo gu pezhugwi belidza zwilidzo zwe dende ne thamborini ne nyele ne laya. 6 Ipapo meya ya Yahwe inowodelukila mukuli nge masimba, ngono unowolebesambeli nabo, ngono unowoshandugwa ukabe nthu upoga. 7 Ngono zwilakidzo izwezwi zwiti zwashingikala, uthame tjaunowobe ubona tjakalingisana ngothamwa, ngobe Ndzimu unawe. 8 Ngono udelukile ku Giligala kunditangila, ndizo ndokowokutobela kuwopisa zwibhayilo ne kupa zwipo zwe mbakiso, koga undimilile mazhuba ali kutendeka kuswikila ndizha ndikulakidza tjaunowothama.”
9 Kwakati Saulo efupatila edwa pana Samuele, Ndzimu ukashandula moyo uwe, zwilakidzo zose izwezwi zwikashingikala mu zhuba ilelo. 10 Kwakati beswika ku dombo, goko le balebesambeli likanshanganidza, ngono meya ye Ndzimu ikadelukila munli nge masimba, ngono kalebesambeli nabo. 11 Kwakati bose bagala benziba bembona elebesambeli ne balebesambeli, bathu bakabhuzwana bakati, “Apa nkololo wa Kishi wanging'wa ngeni kene? Apa Saulo na iyebo upakati kwe balebesambeli kene?” 12 Nlume wakabe egala ipapo kabe eti, “Ngono tate babo ndiani kene?” Ndizo kukabe kutangisa sumo inoti, “Apa Saulo na iyebo upakati kwe balebesambeli kene?” 13 Kati apedza nge bulebesambeli, kayenda ku bugalo gu pezhugwi.
14 Batatenini ba Saulo bakababhuzwa iye ne nlanda bakati, “Makabe mayenda ngayi kene?”
Saulo kadabila eti, “Takabe tanoshaka madonki, ngono takati tibona tisingaabone, tikayenda kuna Samuele.”
15 Batatenini ba Saulo bakabe beti, “Undibudze kuti Samuele wakamubudzani.”
16 Saulo wakadwa batatenini babe kati, “Wakatibudza kati madonki akabong'wa.” Koga ngekwe matama e bushe, akalebgwa ndi Samuele kasitongo babudza iwo.
Saulo unoamutjigwa sa mambo
17 Samuele kadanila bathu be Iziraela kuna Yahwe ku Mizipha, 18 ngono kabadwa kati, “Etji nditjo tjakalebgwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela, ‘Ndimi ndakadusa Baiziraela mu Egipiti, kakale amusungunula mu maboko e Baegipiti ne mu maboko e mibuso yose yakabe yakamutshambilidza.’ 19 Koga imwi ngwenu makalamba Ndzimu wenyu, iwo unomutjidza mu mbatsha dzenyu dzose ne mu manikano dzenyu dzose, ngono makati, ‘Atidi! Koga mutibigile mambo. Ndizo ngwenu muzwilakidze mbeli kwa Yahwe nge njudzi dzenyu nenge misha yenyu.’ ”
20 Samuele kati esedzedza njudzi dzose dze Iziraela, ludzi gwa Bhenjamini gukashalugwa nge kukandila. 21 Ndizo kasedzedza mbeli ludzi gwa Bhenjamini nge misha yabo, nsha wa Materi ukashalugwa nge kukandila. Gwe bupelo kwakashalugwa Saulo nkololo wa Kishi nge kukandila. Koga bakati benshaka, bakansheta. 22 Ndizo bakabhuzwa Yahwe kakale bakati, “Apa nlume iwoyu watjizha ipapa kene?”
Ngono Yahwe bakadabila beti, “Bonani, wakabgwata mu thundu.”
23 Bakalabukilako bakanontola, ngono wakati ema pakati kwe bathu, kadusa nsholo mu bathu bose, banontobela bemma pa thudzi. 24 Samuele wakadwa bathu bose kati, “Apa mombona nlume washalugwa ndi Yahwe kene? Akuna mmwe unonga iye pakati kwe bathu bose.”
Ndizo bathu bose bakapululudza beti, “Mambo ngabalalame!”
25 Samuele kabudza bathu fanilo ne mishingo ye bushe, ebuya eikwala mu lukwalo, ebe egubiga mu mabiganyilo mbeli kwa Yahwe. Ndizo Samuele kapaladza bathu kuti bayende ku mizi yabo. 26 Saulo kayendabo ku nzi uwe ku Gibiya, wakapelekwa nge babhayani bakasima, bakabe bazunguziwa ne Ndzimu kuti bampeleke. 27 Koga bamwe basi be tjimwe bakati, “Apa nlume uwoyu unowotitjidza tjini kene?” Bakansola kakale bakasitongonzhisila zwipo. Koga Saulo kazwinyalalilazwe.
1 Samuel took a small jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. Then he kissed Saul and told him:
The Lord has chosen you to be the leader and ruler of his people. 2 When you leave me today, you'll meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They'll tell you, “The donkeys you've been looking for have been found. Your father has forgotten about them, and now he's worrying about you! He's wondering how he can find you.”
3 Go on from there until you reach the big oak tree at Tabor, where you'll meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats, another will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and the last one will be carrying a clay jar of wine. 4 After they greet you, they'll give you two loaves of bread.
5 Next, go to Gibeah, where the Philistines have an army camp. As you're going into the town, you'll meet a group of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They'll be going along prophesying while others are walking in front of them, playing small harps, small drums, and flutes.
6 The Spirit of the Lord will suddenly take control of you. You'll become a different person and start prophesying right along with them. 7 After these things happen, do whatever you think is right! God will help you.
8 Then go to Gilgal. I'll come a little later, so wait for me. It may even take a week for me to get there, but when I come, I'll offer sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask for his blessings. I'll also tell you what to do next.
Saul Goes Back Home
9 As Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God made Saul feel like a different person. That same day, everything happened just as Samuel had said. 10 When Saul arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. The Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, and right there in the middle of the group he began prophesying.
11 Some people who had known Saul for a long time saw that he was speaking and behaving like a prophet. They said to each other, “What's happened? How can Saul be a prophet?”
12 “Why not?” one of them answered. “Saul has as much right to be a prophet as anyone else!” That's why everyone started saying, “How can Saul be a prophet?”
13 After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the place of worship.
14 Later, Saul's uncle asked him, “Where have you been?”
Saul answered, “Looking for the donkeys. We couldn't find them, so we went to talk with Samuel.”
15 “And what did he tell you?” Saul's uncle asked.
16 Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had been found.” But Saul didn't mention that Samuel had chosen him to be king.
The Lord Shows Israel that Saul Will Be King
17 Samuel sent messengers to tell the Israelites to come to Mizpah and meet with the Lord. 18 When everyone had arrived, Samuel said:
The Lord God of Israel told me to remind you that he had rescued you from the Egyptians and from the other nations that abused you.
19 God has rescued you from your troubles and hard times. But you have rejected your God and have asked for a king. Now each tribe and clan must come near the place of worship so the Lord can choose a king.
20 Samuel brought each tribe, one after the other, to the altar, and the Lord chose the Benjamin tribe. 21 Next, Samuel brought each clan of Benjamin there, and the Lord chose the Matri clan. Finally, Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.
22 The people prayed, “Our Lord, is Saul here?”
“Yes,” the Lord answered, “he is hiding behind the baggage.”
23 The people ran and got Saul and brought him into the middle of the crowd. He was more than a head taller than anyone else. 24 “Look closely at the man the Lord has chosen!” Samuel told the crowd. “There is no one like him!”
The crowd shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained the rights and duties of a king and wrote them all in a book. He put the book in one of the shrines where the Lord was worshiped. Then Samuel sent everyone home.
26 God had encouraged some young men to become followers of Saul, and when he returned to his hometown of Gibeah, they went with him. 27 But some worthless fools said, “How can someone like Saul rescue us from our enemies?” They did not want Saul to be their king, and so they didn't bring him any gifts. But Saul kept calm.