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The Lost Donkeys. Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, had wandered off. Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go out and hunt for the donkeys.” So they went through the hill country of Ephraim, and through the land of Shalishah. Not finding them there, they continued through the land of Shaalim without success. They also went through the land of Benjamin, but they failed to find the animals. When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let us turn back, lest my father forget about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” The servant replied, “Listen! There is a man of God in this city, a man held in high esteem; everything he says comes true. Let us go there now! Perhaps he can advise us about the journey we have undertaken.” (A)But Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we offer the man? The food in our bags has run out; we have no present to give the man of God. What else do we have?” Again the servant answered Saul, “I have a quarter shekel of silver.[a] If I give that to the man of God, he will advise us about the journey.” (B)(In former times in Israel, anyone who went to consult God used to say, “Come, let us go to the seer.” For the one who is now called prophet was formerly called seer.) 10 Saul then said to his servant, “You are right! Come on, let us go!” So they headed toward the city where the man of God lived.

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Footnotes

  1. 9:8 A quarter shekel of silver: about a tenth of an ounce of silver.

Now the donkeys(A) 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.” So he passed through the hill(B) country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha,(C) but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys(D) were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.

When they reached the district of Zuph,(E) 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(F) about us.”

But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God;(G) he is highly respected, and everything(H) he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.”

Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift(I) to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have a quarter of a shekel[a] of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.” (Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire(J) of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)(K)

10 “Good,” Saul said to his servant. “Come, let’s go.” So they set out for the town where the man of God was.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 9:8 That is, about 1/10 ounce or about 3 grams