1 Samuel 9:3-11
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 9
3Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, 'Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.' 4So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.
5When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, 'Come, and let’s return, or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.'
6But he said to him, 'Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.'
7Then Saul said to his servant, 'But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?'
8The servant answered Saul again and said, 'Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.'
9(Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, 'Come, and let’s go to the seer'; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called a seer.)
10Then Saul said to his servant, 'Good idea; come, let’s go.' So they went to the city where the man of God was.
King James Version
Chapter 9
3And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. 5And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us. 6And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. 7Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. 9(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 10Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 9
3One day the donkeys of Saul's father Kish wandered off. Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys." 4Saul and his servant went through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the region of Shalishah, but they didn't find them. They went through the region of Shaalim--nothing. Then they went through the Benjaminite region but still didn't find them.New Living Translation
Chapter 9
3One day Kish’s donkeys strayed away, and he told Saul, 'Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys.' 4So Saul took one of the servants and traveled through the hill country of Ephraim, the land of Shalishah, the Shaalim area, and the entire land of Benjamin, but they couldn’t find the donkeys anywhere.
8Well,' the servant said, 'I have one small silver piece. We can at least offer it to the man of God and see what happens!'
9(In those days if people wanted a message from God, they would say, 'Let’s go and ask the seer,' for prophets used to be called seers.)
English Standard Version
Chapter 9
3Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
5When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”
6But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”
7Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
8The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.”
9(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.)
10And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
New International Version
Chapter 9
3Now the donkeys 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.' 4So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.
8The servant answered him again. 'Look,' he said, 'I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.'
9(Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, 'Come, let us go to the seer,' because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
New King James Version
Chapter 9
3Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.
8And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.”
9(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)