And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

And Samuel said: When thou wast a little one in thy own eyes, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel.

And Samuel said, Was it not when thou wast little in thine eyes that thou becamest the head of the tribes of Israel, and Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel?

And Samuel saith, 'Art not thou, if thou art little in thine own eyes, head of the tribes of Israel? and Jehovah doth anoint thee for king over Israel,

And Samuel said, Though you may seem little to yourself, are you not head of the tribes of Israel? for the Lord with the holy oil made you king over Israel,

And Samuel said: "Was it not when you were little in your own eyes that you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you as king over Israel.

Little in thine own sight - Who can bear prosperity? Is it not of the Lord's great goodness that the majority of the inhabitants of the earth are in comparative poverty?

And Samuel said, When thou [wast] (g) little in thine own sight, [wast] thou not [made] the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
(g) Meaning, of base condition as in (1-Samuel 9:21).

And Samuel said, when thou wast little in thine own sight,.... Humble and lowly, and had a mean opinion of himself, his family and tribe, and judged himself unworthy of the kingdom; see 1-Samuel 9:21 suggesting, that now he was proud and haughty, and would have his own will and way:
wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel; not of his own tribe only, which was the least, but of all the tribes, and so they were all subject to him, and at his command:
and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel; all which is observed, partly to point out unto him the high honour he was raised unto, from a low estate, which laid him under obligation to serve the Lord, and obey him; and partly as an answer to him, excusing himself, and laying the blame upon the people; whereas seeing he was made king over them, his business was to rule and govern them, guide and direct them in the right way, and restrain them from that which was evil; and since he was anointed by the Lord, and not by the people, he ought to have obeyed him, and not regarded the pleasure of them.