God’s Choice for King

¹⁵ Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^(A)the Lord had ^[a]revealed this to Samuel, saying, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^(B)you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^(C)I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord ^[b]said to him, “^(D)Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.”

Saul among the Prophets

10 Then ^(A)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on ^[a]Saul’s head, ^(B)kissed him, and said, “Has ^(C)the Lord not anointed you as ruler over ^(D)His inheritance? ² When you leave me today, then you will find two men close to ^(E)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^(F)The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has stopped talking about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What am I to do about my son?”’ ³ Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ^[b](G)oak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^(H)to God at Bethel will meet you: one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine. ⁴ And they will ^[c]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. ⁵ Afterward you will come to ^[d](I)the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^(J)a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and ^(K)they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then ^(L)the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and ^(M)you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. ⁷ And it shall be when these signs come to you, ^(N)do for yourself what ^[e]the occasion requires, because ^(O)God is with you. ⁸ And ^(P)you shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(Q)sacrifice peace offerings. ^(R)You shall wait seven days until I come to you and inform you of what you should do.”

⁹ Then it happened, when he turned his back to leave Samuel, that God ^(S)changed ^[f]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ^10 (T)When they came there to ^[g]the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them.