1 Samuel 10:7

1Sa 10:7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, [that] thou do as occasion serve thee; for God [is] with thee.

Ver. 7. That thou do as occasion serve thee.] Dispone te quantum potueris ad decenter et potenter regnandum. {a} Quit thee like a king; {b} "deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good." {2Ch 19:11} "Whatever thine hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might," depending upon God for direction and success.

{a} Lyra.

{b} Regaliter age. - Jerome.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 10:7. Do as occasion shall serve thee — Hebrew, Do what thy hand findeth to do; that is, as thou shalt have a call and opportunity. As if he had said, I cannot give thee particular directions about every thing that is to be done by thee: but God’s Spirit shall guide thee to do that which the present occasion requires. He does not intend that he should take the kingly government upon him, before his call to it was owned by the people, but that he should dispose his mind to a readiness of undertaking any public service when he should be called to his office.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:7 for God is with you: God’s presence empowered Saul to carry out his responsibilities.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Thou do as occasion serve thee] After God has shown thee all these signs that thou art under his especial guidance, fear not to undertake any thing that belongs to thy office, for God is with thee.

What a number of circumstances thus precisely foretold! Does not this prove that Samuel was under the continual inspiration of the Almighty?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) When these signs are come unto thee.—When these varied circumstances have happened to thee, then be sure that the splendid and glorious life which I have foretold as thy lot will assuredly lie before thee in the immediate future. I will give thee no imperious directions by which thou art to shape thy course. Go bravely on; do well and truly whatever thy hand findeth to do, being confident that God will be with thee, and that His glorious Arm shall be thy guide along that road of honour and of peril which thou art destined to travel.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. do as occasion serve thee] Lit. “do what thine hand shall find;” undertake boldly whatever presents itself. Cp. Jdg_9:33; Ecc_9:10.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee,.... And are all fulfilled, especially the last:

that thou do as occasion shall serve thee: as his circumstances would require, and as he in his great wisdom and prudence, with which he should now be furnished, would see necessary to prepare for his taking upon him the kingdom he was anointed to, and would be in a little time openly chosen to, and invested with. Some understand this of royal ornaments befitting a king, or of preparing arms for the defence of the kingdom:

for God is with thee; or the Word of the Lord is thy help, as the Targum, and therefore he need not fear engaging in any enterprise that might be for the glory of God, and good of the kingdom.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Find. Undertake any enterprise, how difficult soever, which God may propose to thee. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

These signs were certain evidences of God’s calling of him to the kingdom, because they were all future contingencies, which none but God could infallibly know or foretell.

Do as occasion shall serve thee, Heb. do what thy hand findeth to do, i.e. as thou shalt have a call and opportunity. He doth not intend that he should take the kingly government upon him, before his call to it was known to and owned by the people, which had been preposterous and dangerous; but that he should dispose his mind to a readiness of undertaking any public service when necessity required it, and he should be called to his office.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Do as occasion serve thee — Literally, as in the margin, do for thee as thine hand shall find. That is, when thou seest all these signs come to pass, know that the Lord confirms thee as captain over his inheritance, and afterward act as circumstances seem to require. Boldly enter the openings of Providence.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do as occasion serve thee. Literally, "do for thyself as thy hand shall find," i.e. follow the lead of circumstances, and do thy best. This is the flood time of thy fortunes; press onward, and the kingdom is thine own, for God is with thee, and success is sure.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou do - Hebrew. do what they hand findeth to do; that is, as thou shalt have a call and opportunity. He doth not intend that he should take the kingly government upon him, before his call to it was owned by the people, but that he should dispose his mind to a readiness of undertaking any public service when he should be called to his office.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

do whatever your hand finds to do

Here Samuel speaks of Saul's hand as if it were a person trying to find things. AT: "do whatever you think is right to do" (See: Personification)

translationWords

sign

hand

God

Gilgal

burnt offering

sacrifice

peace offering

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

And when these signs come upon you. And you will realize that my words are true; for just as these signs will come to you, so will the matter of the kingship be fulfilled.

Prepare yourself as well as you can. [Targum renders,] 'prepare for yourself regal garments, and make ready for yourself the court ritual,' as well as you can.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.