And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

And the asses of Cis, Sauls father, were lost: and Cis said to his son Saul: Take one of the servants with thee, and arise, go, and seek the asses. And when they had passed through mount Ephraim,

And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost; and Kish said to Saul his son, Take, I pray, one of the young men with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

And 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.'

Now the asses of Saul's father Kish had gone wandering away. And Kish said to his son Saul, Take one of the servants with you, and get up and go in search of the asses.

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, 'Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.' So Saul got up and took one of the servants of his father with him and went to look for the donkeys of his father Kish.

Now the donkeys of Kish, the father of Saul, had become lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, "Take with you one of the servants, and rising up, go out and seek the donkeys." And when they had passed through mount Ephraim,

The asses of Kish - were lost - What a wonderful train of occurrences were connected in order to bring Saul to the throne of Israel! Every thing seems to go on according to the common course of events, and yet all conspired to favor the election of a man to the kingdom who certainly did not come there by the approbation of God.
Asses grow to great perfection in the East; and at this time, as there were no horses in Judea, they were very useful; and on them kings and princes rode.

And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go (c) seek the asses.
(c) All these circumstances were means to serve God's providence, by which Saul (though not approved by God) was made king.

And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost,.... Had got out of the stables or fields, in which they were kept, and strayed from thence:
and Kish said to Saul his son, take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses; he chose not to send his servants only, who might not be so careful and diligent in searching for them, but his son, and not him alone, but a servant with him to wait upon him, and assist him. And it was quite agreeable to the simplicity of those times for persons of equal or greater substance to be employed in such an affair; asses made a considerable part of the wealth and riches of men, were rode upon by persons of quality, and were fed and taken care of by the sons of dukes and princes; see Job 1:3. The Jews (w) have a tradition, that this servant was Doeg the Edomite.
(w) Hieron. Trad. Hebrews. in Paralip, fol. 83. A.

the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul . . . arise, go seek the asses--The probability is that the family of Kish, according to the immemorial usage of Oriental shepherds in the purely pastoral regions, had let the animals roam at large during the grazing season, at the close of which messengers were despatched in search of them. Such travelling searches are common; and, as each owner has his own stamp marked on his cattle, the mention of it to the shepherds he meets gradually leads to the discovery of the strayed animals. This ramble of Saul's had nothing extraordinary in it, except its superior directions and issue, which turned its uncertainty into certainty.

The asses - Which were there of great price, because of the scarcity of horses, and therefore not held unworthy of Saul's seeking, at least in those ancient times, when simplicity, humility, and industry were in fashion among persons of quality.