CHAPTER LVI.

LVI. And at that time the children of Israel required a king in their Just. And they gathered (1 Sam. 8:4, 8:5) together unto Samuel, and said: Behold, now, thou art grown old, and thy sons walk not in the ways of the Lord; now, therefore, appoint a king over us to judge betwixt us, for the word is fulfilled which Moses spake unto our fathers in the (Deut. 17:15) wilderness, saying: Thou shalt surely appoint over thee a prince of your brethren. 2. And when Samuel heard mention of the kingdom, he was sore

grieved in his heart, and said: Behold now I see that there is no more ( or not yet) for us a time of a perpetual kingdom, neither of building the house of the Lord our God, inasmuch as these desire a king before the time. And now, if the Lord refuse it altogether ( or But even if the Lord so will), it seemeth unto me that a king cannot be established. 3. And the Lord said unto him in the night: Be not grieved, for I will send them a (1 Sam. 9:15) king which shall lay them waste, and he himself shall be laid waste thereafter. Now he that shall come unto thee to-morrow at the sixth hour, he it is that shall reign over them.

(1 Sam. 9:1-4) 4. And on the next day, Saul, the son of Cis, was coming from Mount Effrem, seeking the asses of his father; and when he was come to Armathem, he entered in to inquire of Samuel for the asses. Now he was walking hard by Baam, and Saul (1 Sam. 9:9) said unto him: Where is he that seeth? For at that time a prophet was called Seer. And Samuel (1 Sam. 9:16) said unto him: I am he that seeth. And he said: Canst thou tell me of the asses of my father? for they are lost. 5. And Samuel said unto him: Refresh thyself with me this day, and in the morning I will tell thee that whereof thou camest to inquire. And Samuel said unto the Lord: Direct, O Lord, thy people, and reveal unto me what thou hast determined concerning them. And Saul refreshed himself with Samuel that day and rose in the morning. And Samuel said unto him: Behold, know thou that the Lord hath chosen thee to be prince over his people at this time, and hath raised up thy ways, and thy time shall be directed. (1 Sam. 9:21) 6. And Saul said to Samuel: Who am 1, and what is my father's house, that my lord should speak thus unto me? For I understand not what thou sayest, because I am a youth. And Samuel

said to Saul: Who will grant that thy word should come even unto accomplishment of itself, that thou mayest live many days? but consider this, that thy words shall be likened unto the words of a prophet, whose name shall be Hieremias. 7. And as Saul (Jer. 1:6) went away that day, the people came unto Samuel, saying: Give us a king as thou didst promise us. And he said to them: Behold, the king shall come unto you after three days. And lo, Saul came. And there befell him all the signs which Samuel had told him. Are not these things written in the book of the Kings?