1 Samuel 9:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They answered, "He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.

NIV: "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.

NASB: They answered them and said, 'He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today.

CSB: The women answered, "Yes, he is ahead of you. Hurry, he just now entered the city, because there’s a sacrifice for the people at the high place today.

NLT: Yes,' they replied. 'Stay right on this road. He is at the town gates. He has just arrived to take part in a public sacrifice up at the place of worship.

KJV: And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:

NKJV: And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.

First Samuel 9:1–14 begins the story of Saul, first king of Israel. Saul and his servant spend three days looking for lost donkeys before seeking help. They ask for the local seer—the original term for a "prophet"—and are sent to Samuel. Neither man realizes they are expected and that the Lord has special plans for Saul.

The story of Saul, first king of Israel, begins with him searching the Ephraim hill country for lost donkeys. He stops at Ramah to ask the prophet there for help. The seer, Samuel, has been told by God to expect a man to come at this time. Samuel will anoint this man as the prince of Israel. Samuel makes Saul the guest of honor at a sacrificial feast and then brings him home to sleep on his roof. As Saul is leaving town the next day, Samuel stops and says it is time to reveal the word of God to Saul.

The people of Israel have demanded a king (1 Samuel 8:4–5). Here, the Lord introduces Samuel to Saul, who would become the nation's first ruler (1 Samuel 10:24). Saul and his servant stop at Ramah looking for his family's donkeys. God has told Samuel to anoint Saul as the prince of Israel. After eating with Samuel as an honored guest, Saul prepares to leave, but Samuel has more to tell him (1 Samuel 10:1). Saul would quickly fall into disobedience (1 Samuel 15:10–11); David would eventually take his place (1 Samuel 16:12–13).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.