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¹ And `a man was of Beniamyn, `Cys bi name, the sone of Abiel, sone of Seor, sone of Bethor, sone of Aphia, sone of the man Gemyny, strong in bodili myyt.² And to hym was a sone, Saul bi name, chosun and good; and no man of the sones of Israel was betere than he; fro the schuldur and aboue he apperide ouer al the puple.

³ Sotheli the femal assis of Cys, the fadir of Saul, perischyden. And Cys seide to Saul his sone, Take with thee oon of the children, and rise thou, and go, and seke the femal assis. And whanne thei hadden go bi the hil of Effraym,⁴ and bi the lond of Salisa, and hadden not foundun, thei passiden also bi the lond of Salym, and tho weren not there; but also 'thei passiden bi the lond of Gemyny, and founden not.⁵ Sotheli whanne thei hadden come in to the lond of Suph, and hadden not founde, Saul seide to his child that was with hym, Come thou, and turne we ayen; lest perauenture my fadir hath lefte the femal assis, and is bisy for vs.⁶ Which child seide to hym, Lo! the man of God is in this citee, a noble man; al thing that he spekith, cometh with out doute. Now therfor go we thidir, if perauenture he schewe to vs of oure weie, for which we camen.⁷ And Saul seide to his child, Lo! we schulen go; what schulen we bere to the man of God? Breede failide in oure scrippis, and we han no present, that we yyue to the man of God, `nether ony othir thing.<sup>8</sup> Eft the child answeride to Saul, and seide, Lo! the fourthe part of `a stater, that is, a cicle, of siluer is foundun in myn hond; yyue we to the man of God, that he schewe to vs oure weie.⁹ Sumtyme in Israel ech man goynge to counsel God spak thus, Come ye, and go we to the seere; for he, that is seid `to dai a profete, was clepid sumtyme a seere.<sup>10</sup> And Saul seide to his child, `Thi word is the beste; come thou, go we. And thei yeden in to the citee, `in which the man of God was.

¹¹ And whanne thei stieden in to the hiynesse of the citee, thei founden damesels goynge out to drawe watir, and thei seiden to the dameselis, Whether the seere is here?¹² Whiche dameselis answeriden, and seiden to hem, He is here; lo! he is bifor thee; `haste thou now, for to day he cam in to the citee; for to dai is sacrifice of the puple in the hiy place.<sup>13</sup> Ye schulen entre in to the citee, and anoon ye schulen fynde hym, bifor that he stie in to the hiy place to ete; for the puple schal not ete til he come, for he schal blesse the sacrifice, and afterward thei schulen ete that ben clepid. Now therfor stie ye, for to day ye schulen fynde hym.<sup>14</sup> And thei stieden in to the citee. And whanne thei yeden in the myddis of the citee, Samuel apperide goynge out ayens hem, that he schulde stie in to the hiy place.<sup>15</sup> Forsothe the Lord `hadde maad reuelacioun in the eere of Samuel `bifor o dai, that Saul cam, and seide,<sup>16</sup> In this same our which is now to morewe, Y schal sende to thee a man of the lond of Beniamyn, and thou schalt anoynte hym duyk on my puple Israel, and he schal saue my puple fro the hond of Filisteis; for Y haue biholde my puple, for `the cry of hem cam to me.¹⁷ And whanne Samuel hadde biholde Saul, the Lord seide to Samuel, Lo! the man, whom Y seide to thee; this man schal be lord of my puple.

¹⁸ Forsothe Saul neiyede to Samuel in the myddis of the yate, and seide, Y preye, schewe thou to me, where is the hows of the seere?¹⁹ And Samuel answeride to Saul, and seide, Y am the seere; stie thou bifor me in to the hiy place, that thou ete with me to dai, and Y schal delyuere thee in the morewtid, and Y schal schewe to thee alle thingis that ben in thin herte.²⁰ And be thou not bisy of the femal assis, whiche thou lostist the thridde dai agoon, for tho ben foundun; and whose schulen be alle the beste thingis of Israel, whether not to thee, and to al the hows of thi fader?²¹ Sotheli Saul answeride, and seide, Whether Y am not a sone of Gemyny, of the leeste lynage of Israel, and my kynrede is the laste among alle the meynees of the lynage of Beniamyn? Whi therfor hast thou spoke to me this word?²² Therfor Samuel took Saul, and his child, and ledde hem in to the chaumbur of thre ordris, and he yaf to hem a place in the bigynnyng of hem that weren clepid; for thei weren as thretti men.²³ And Samuel seide to the cook, Yyue thou the part, which Y yaf to thee, and comaundide, that thou schuldist kepe bi it silf anentis thee.²⁴ Sotheli the cook reiside the schuldir, and settide bifor Saul. And Samuel seide, Lo! that, that lefte, `sette thou bifor thee, and ete; for of purpos it was kept to thee, whanne Y clepide the puple. And Saul eet with Samuel in that dai.<sup>25</sup> And thei camen doun fro the hiy place in to the citee; and Samuel spak with Saul in the soler, and Saul `araiede a bed in the soler, and slepte.²⁶ And whanne thei hadden rise eerli, and `now it bigan to be cleer, Samuel clepide Saul in to the soler, and seide, Rise thou, that Y delyuere thee. And Saul roos, and bothe yeden out, that is, he, and Samuel.²⁷ And whanne thei yeden doun in the laste part of the citee, Samuel seide to Saul, Seie thou to the child, that he go bifor vs, and passe; forsothe stonde thou a litil, that Y schewe to thee the word of the Lord.