¹Zvino kwakanga kuno murume waBhenjamini, wainzi Kishi, mwanakomana waAbhieri, mwanakomana waZerori, mwanakomana waBhekorati, mwanakomana waAfia, mwanakomana womuBhenjamini, munhu waiva nesimba noumhare.

¹And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name [is] Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, mighty of valour,

²Uyu munhu wakange ano mwanakomana wainzi Sauro, jaya rakanaka; kwakanga kusino mumwe munhu pakati pavana vaIsiraeri wakange akamukunda pakunaka; kubva pamafudzi ake kusvika kumusoro wake wakange akapfuura vanhu vose pakureba.

²and he hath a son, and his name [is] Saul, a choice youth and goodly, and there is not a man among the sons of Israel goodlier than he — from his shoulder and upward, higher than any of the people.

³Zvino mbongoro dzaKishi, baba vaSauro, dzakanga dzarashika. Ipapo Kishi akati kuna Sauro, mwanakomana wake, Enda nomumwe wavaranda, mundotsvaka mbongoro.

³And the asses of Kish, father of Saul, are lost, and Kish saith unto Saul his son, `Take, I pray thee, with thee, one of the young men, and rise, go, seek the asses.`

⁴Iye akapfuura nokunyika yamakomo yaEfuremu, akapfuurawo nokunyika yamakomo yeSharisha, asi havana kudziwana; zvino vakapfuurazve nokunyika yeSharimi, asi naipapo dzakanga dzisipo; ipapo akapfuura nokunyika yavaBhenjamini, asi havana kudziwana.

⁴And he passeth over through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passeth over through the land of Shalisha, and they have not found; and they pass over through the land of Shaalim, and they are not; and he passeth over through the land of Benjamin, and they have not found.

⁵Zvino vakati vachisvika kunyika yeZufi, Sauro akati kumuranda wake, wakange anaye, Ngatidzoke hedu; baba vangu zvimwe vangarega kufunga mbongoro, vakafunganya pamusoro pedu.

⁵They have come in unto the land of Zuph, and Saul hath said to his young man who [is] with him, `Come, and we turn back, lest my father leave off from the asses, and hath been sorrowful for us.`

⁶Iye akati kwaari, Tarirai, muguta rino muno munhu waMwari, munhu unokudzwa kwazvo; zvose zvaanotaura zvinoitika; hendei zvino ikoko, zvimwe ungatiudza nzira yatingafamba nayo.

⁶And he saith to him, `Lo, I pray thee, a man of God [is] in this city, and the man is honoured; all that he speaketh doth certainly come; now, we go there, it may be he doth declare to us our way on which we have gone.`

⁷Zvino Sauro akati kumuranda wake, Asi tarira, kana tikaenda, tichandovigirei munhu uyo? nekuti zvingwa zvakanga zviri mumidziyo yedu zvapera; hapana chipo chatingavigira munhu waMwari; tineiko?

⁷And Saul saith to his young man, `And lo, we go, and what do we bring in to the man? for the bread hath gone from our vessels, and a present there is not to bring in to the man of God — what [is] with us?`

⁸Ipapo muranda akapindurazve, akati kuna Sauro, Tarirai, ndine chechina cheshekeri resirivha muruoko rwangu; ndichachipa munhu waMwari, atiudze nzira yedu.

⁸And the young man addeth to answer Saul, and saith, `Lo, there is found with me a fourth of a shekel of silver: and I have given to the man of God, and he hath declared to us our way.`

⁹(Kare pakati pavaIsiraeri kana munhu ondobvunza Mwari, waiti, Handei kuMuvoni; nekuti unonzi Muporofita zvino wainzi Muvoni kare.)

⁹Formerly in Israel, thus said the man in his going to seek God, `Come and we go unto the seer,` for the `prophet` of to-day is called formerly `the seer.`

¹⁰Ipapo Sauro akati kumuranda wake, Ishoko rakanaka, hendei. Naizvozvo vakaenda kuguta kwakanga kuno munhu waMwari.

¹⁰And Saul saith to his young man, `Thy word [is] good; come, we go;` and they go unto the city where the man of God [is].

¹¹Zvino vakati vachikwira kuguta, vakasongana navasikana vakanga vabuda kundoteka mvura, vakati kwavari, Muvoni ari pano here?

¹¹They are going up in the ascent of the city, and have found young women going out to draw water, and say to them, `Is the seer in this [place]?`

¹²Vakapindura, vakati, Aripo, tarirai, hoyo pamberi penyu; kurumidzai henyu zvino, nekuti wasvika muguta nhasi; nekuti vanhu vanobayira nhasi padunhu rakakwirira.

¹²And they answer them and say, `He is; lo, before thee! haste, now, for to-day he hath come in to the city, for the people hath a stated sacrifice in a high place.

¹³Kana mangoti mapinda muguta, muchamuwana pakarepo achigere kukwira kudunhu rakakwirira kundodyapo; nekuti vanhu havangadyi, iye asati asvika, nekuti ndiye unoropafadza chibayiro; pashure ivo vakakokwa vachadya. Naizvozvo chikwirai zvino, nekuti muchamuwana nenguva ino.

¹³At your going in to the city so ye do find him, before he doth go up in to the high place to eat; for the people do not eat till his coming, for he doth bless the sacrifice; afterwards they eat, who are called, and now, go up, for at this time ye find him.`

¹⁴Ipapo vakakwira kuguta. Vakati vosvika muguta, vakaona Samueri obuda, akasangana navo okwira kudunhu rakakwirira.

¹⁴And they go up in to the city; they are coming in to the midst of the city, and lo, Samuel is coming out to meet them, to go up to the high place;

¹⁵Zvino Jehovha wakange azivisa Samueri zuva rakatangira kusvika kwaSauro, akati,

¹⁵and Jehovah had uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before the coming of Saul, saying,

¹⁶Mangwana nenguva ino ndichatuma kwauri munhu unobva kunyika yaBhenjamini; unofanira kumuzodza, kuti ave mutungamiriri wavanhu vangu vaIsiraeri aponese vanhu vangu mumaoko avaFirisitia; nekuti ndakatarira vanhu vangu, nekuti kuchema kwavo kwakasvika kwandiri.

¹⁶`At this time tomorrow, I send unto thee a man out of the land of Benjamin — and thou hast anointed him for leader over My people Israel, and he hath saved My people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen My people, for its cry hath come in unto Me.`

¹⁷Zvino Samueri wakati achiona Sauro; Jehovha akati kwaari, Ndiye munhu wandakakuudza ndichiti, ndiye uchabata vanhu vangu.

¹⁷When Samuel hath seen Saul, then hath Jehovah answered him, `Lo, the man of whom I have spoken unto thee; this [one] doth restrain My people.`

¹⁸Ipapo Sauro akaswedera kuna Samueri pasuwo, akati, Ndiudzeiwo kuti imba yoMuvoni iripi?

¹⁸And Saul draweth nigh to Samuel in the midst of the gate, and saith, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, where [is] this — the seer`s house?`

¹⁹Samueri akapindura Sauro, akati, Ndini Muvoni; nditungamirirei mukwire kudunhu rakakwirira, nekuti munofanira kudya neni nhasi; mangwana ndichakutendera kuenda, ndigokuudzawo zvose zviri pamoyo wako.

¹⁹And Samuel answereth Saul and saith, `I [am] the seer; go up before me into the high place, and ye have eaten with me to-day, and I have sent thee away in the morning, and all that [is] in thy heart I declare to thee.

²⁰Asi kana dziri mbongoro dzako dzakanga dzarashika mazuva matatu, usadzifunga hako, nekuti dzatowanikwa hadzo. Asi zvose zvinodikamwa naIsiraeri hazvizi kwauri here? Hazvizi kwauri nokuna vose veimba yababa vako here?

²⁰As to the asses which are lost to thee this day three days, set not thy heart to them, for they have been found; and to whom [is] all the desire of Israel?` is it not to thee and to all thy father`s house?`

²¹Sauro akapindura, akati, Ko handizi muBhenjamini, worudzi ruduku kumarudzi ose aIsiraeri here? Uye mhuri yangu haizi duku kumhuri dzose dzorudzi rwaBhenjamini here? Munotaurireiko kudaro kwandiri?

²¹And Saul answereth and saith, `Am not I a Benjamite — of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? and why hast thou spoken unto me according to this word?`

²²Samueri akatora Sauro nomuranda wake, akapinda navo mumba mokudyira, akavagarisa pavakakudzwa kupfuura vamwe vakakokwa, vaiva vanhu vanenge makumi matatu.

²²And Samuel taketh Saul, and his young man, and bringeth them in to the chamber, and giveth to them a place at the head of those called; and they [are] about thirty men.

²³Zvino Samueri akati kumubiki, Uya nomugove wandakakupa ndichiti, Chiuchengeta uri woga.

²³And Samuel saith to the cook, `Give the portion which I gave to thee, of which I said unto thee, `Set it by thee?`

²⁴Mubiki akatora chidzva nezvose zvakanga zviri pachiri, akazvigadza pamberi paSauro. Samueri akati, Tarira, ndicho chakanga chakachengetwa; uzvigadze pamberi pako, udye, nekuti zvakakuchengeterwa iwe kusvikira nguva yakafanira, nekuti ndakati, Ndakokera vanhu. Naizvozvo Sauro akadya naSamueri musi iwoyo.

²⁴(and the cook lifteth up the leg, and that which [is] on it, and setteth before Saul), and he saith, `Lo, that which is left; set [it] before thee — eat, for to this appointed season it is kept for thee, saying, The people I have called;` and Saul eateth with Samuel on that day.

²⁵Zvino vakati vaburuka padunhu rakakwirira, vakapinda muguta, akataurirana naSauro padenga reimba.

²⁵And they come down from the high place to the city, and he speaketh with Saul on the roof.

²⁶Vakamuka mangwanani, mambakwedza, Samueri akadana Sauro padenga reimba, akati, Muka, ndikuendise. Ipapo Sauro akamuka, vakabuda iye naSamueri vari vaviri.

²⁶And they rise early, and it cometh to pass, at the ascending of the dawn, that Samuel calleth unto Saul, on the roof, saying, `Rise, and I send thee away;` and Saul riseth, and they go out, both of them — he and Samuel, without.

²⁷Zvino vakati voburuka pamugumo weguta, Samueri akati kuna Sauro, Raira muranda atungamire mberi kwedu (iye akatungamira hake); asi iwe chimbomira hako, ndikuzivise shoko raMwari.

²⁷They are going down in the extremity of the city, and Samuel hath said unto Saul, `Say to the young man that he pass on before us (and he passeth on), and thou, stand at this time, and I cause thee to hear the word of God.`