Saul’s Search

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(A)Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a ^[a]valiant mighty man. ² He had a son whose name was Saul, a ^(B)young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; ^(C)from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through ^(D)the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^(E)Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^(F)Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of ^(G)Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, ^(H)or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.” ⁶ But he said to him, “Behold now, there is ^(I)a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ^(J)everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, ^(K)perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is ^(L)no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will ^(M)tell us our way.” ⁹ (Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called ^(N)a seer.) ¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “^[b]Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the slope to the city, ^(O)they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered them and said, “He is; ^[c]see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because ^(P)the people have a sacrifice on ^(Q)the high place today. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because ^(R)he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

God’s Choice for King

¹⁵ Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^(S)the Lord had ^[d]revealed this to Samuel, saying, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^(T)you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^(U)I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord ^[e]said to him, “^(V)Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” ¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind. ^20 (W)And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And ^(X)for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” ²¹ Saul replied, “^(Y)Am I not a Benjaminite, of ^(Z)the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ^[f]tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “^[g]Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it ^[h]aside.’” ²⁴ Then the cook ^(AA)took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ^[i]since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they came down from the high place into the city, ^[j]Samuel spoke with Saul ^(AB)on the roof. ²⁶ And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. ²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”

Saul among the Prophets

10 Then ^(AC)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on ^[k]Saul’s head, ^(AD)kissed him, and said, “Has ^(AE)the Lord not anointed you as ruler over ^(AF)His inheritance? ² When you leave me today, then you will find two men close to ^(AG)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^(AH)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 ^[l](AI)oak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^(AJ)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 ^[m]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. ⁵ Afterward you will come to ^[n](AK)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 ^(AL)a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and ^(AM)they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then ^(AN)the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and ^(AO)you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. ⁷ And it shall be when these signs come to you, ^(AP)do for yourself what ^[o]the occasion requires, because ^(AQ)God is with you. ⁸ And ^(AR)you shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(AS)sacrifice peace offerings. ^(AT)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 ^(AU)changed ^[p]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ^10 (AV)When they came there to ^[q]the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And it came about, when all who previously knew him saw that he was indeed prophesying with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? ^(AW)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “^(AX)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ Now ^(AY)Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^(AZ)To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ So Saul said to his uncle, “^(BA)He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

Saul Publicly Chosen King

¹⁷ Now Samuel called the ^(BB)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; ¹⁸ and he said to the sons of Israel, “^(BC)This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the ^[r]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But today you ^(BD)have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have ^[s]said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, ^(BE)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your ^[t]groups of thousands.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward; and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. ²¹ Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the Matrite family was selected by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was selected by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore ^(BF)they inquired further of the Lord: “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” ²³ So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, ^(BG)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(BH)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “^[u](BI)Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people ^(BJ)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book, and ^(BK)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. ²⁶ Saul also went ^(BL)to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But certain ^[v](BM)useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and ^(BN)did not bring him a gift. But ^[w]he kept silent about it.

The Impartiality of God

2 Therefore you have ^(A)no excuse, ^[a]you foolish person, ^(B)everyone of you who passes judgment; for ^[b]in that matter in which ^(C)you judge someone else, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ² And we know that the judgment of God ^[c]rightly falls upon those who practice such things. ³ But do you suppose this, ^[d](D)you foolish person who passes judgment on those who practice such things, and yet does them as well, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴ Or do you think lightly of ^(E)the riches of His ^(F)kindness and ^[e](G)restraint and ^(H)patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵ But ^[f]because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart ^(I)you are storing up wrath for yourself ^(J)on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ^6 (K)who will repay each person according to his deeds: ⁷ to those who by ^(L)perseverance in doing good seek ^(M)glory, honor, and ^(N)immortality, He will give ^(O)eternal life; ⁸ but to those who are ^(P)self-serving and ^(Q)do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation. ⁹ There will be ^(R)tribulation and distress ^[g]for every soul of mankind who does evil, ^[h]for the Jew ^(S)first and also ^[i]for the Greek, ¹⁰ but ^(T)glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good, to the Jew ^(U)first and also to the Greek. ¹¹ For ^(V)there is no partiality with God.

¹² For all who have sinned ^[j](W)without the Law will also perish ^[k]without the Law, and all who have sinned ^[l]under the Law will be judged ^[m]by the Law; ¹³ for it is ^(X)not the hearers ^[n]of the Law who are ^[o]righteous before God, but the doers ^[p]of the Law who will be justified. ¹⁴ For when Gentiles who do not have ^[q]the Law ^[r](Y)instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having ^[s]the Law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ in that they show ^(Z)the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, ¹⁶ on the day when, ^(AA)according to my gospel, ^(AB)God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.

The Jews under the Law

¹⁷ But if you call yourself a ^[t]Jew and ^(AC)rely ^[u]upon the Law and boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will and ^[v](AD)distinguish the things that matter, being instructed from the Law, ¹⁹ and are confident that you yourself are a guide to people who are blind, a light to those in darkness, ²⁰ a ^[w]corrector of the foolish, a teacher of ^[x]the immature, possessing in the Law ^(AE)the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth— ²¹ you, therefore, ^(AF)who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who ^[y]preach that one is not to steal, do you steal? ²² You who say that one is not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you ^(AG)rob temples? ²³ You who ^(AH)boast ^[z]in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? ²⁴ For “^(AI)the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles ^(AJ)because of you,” just as it is written.

²⁵ For indeed circumcision is of value if you ^(AK)practice ^[aa]the Law; but if you are a violator ^[ab]of the Law, ^(AL)your circumcision has turned into uncircumcision. ^26 (AM)So if ^(AN)the ^[ac]uncircumcised man ^(AO)keeps the requirements of the Law, will his uncircumcision not be regarded as circumcision? ²⁷ And ^(AP)he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not ^(AQ)judge you who ^[ad]though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a violator ^[ae]of the Law? ²⁸ For ^(AR)he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. ²⁹ But ^(AS)he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and ^(AT)circumcision is of the heart, by the ^(AU)Spirit, not by the letter; ^(AV)and his praise is not from people, but from God.