1 Samuel 9:6

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

1 Samuel 9:6 in Other Translations

6 And 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.

6 But 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."

6 But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let’s go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.”

6 He replied, "Not so fast. There's a holy man in this town. He carries a lot of weight around here. What he says is always right on the mark. Maybe he can tell us where to go."

6 "Look," the attendant said, "there's a man of God in this city who is highly respected; everything he says is sure to come true. Let's go there now. Maybe he'll tell us which way we should go."

1 Samuel 9:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 9:6

And he said unto him
That is, the servant of Saul:

behold, now, there is in this city a man of God;
a prophet of the Lord, as the Targum; such were called men of God, because not only partakers of the grace of God, but of extraordinary gifts, which qualified them for the office of prophets. The city near to which they now were was Ramah, the place where Samuel lived, and he is the man of God here meant:

and he is an honourable man;
of great esteem among men for his wisdom and knowledge, integrity and faithfulness, and particularly for his gift of prophecy, being a true prophet of the Lord; so the Targum,

``and he is a man that prophesies truth,''

and that made him honourable, and gave him great credit:

all that he saith cometh surely to pass;
as his prophecies concerning Eli's family, and other things, which were well known to have had their accomplishment, and this had gained him universal esteem, see ( 1 Samuel 3:19 ) ,

now let us go thither;
being very near it, within sight of it, insomuch that the servant could point at it, and say "this city", as in the preceding part of the verse:

peradventure he can show us our way that we should go;
to find the asses; he was not certain he could or would, but thought it possible and probable he might.

1 Samuel 9:6 In-Context

4 So 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.

5 When they reached the district of Zuph, 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 about us.”

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

7 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 to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

8 The 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.”

Cross References

• 1. S Deuteronomy 33:1; S Judges 13:6; 1 Kings 13:1
• 2. 1 Samuel 3:19