10 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.

And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

12 And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.

15 And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17 And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh;

18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.

20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

22 Therefore they enquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold he hath hid himself among the stuff.

23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought no presents. But he held his peace.

Saul Anointed by Samuel

10 Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that the Lord has anointed you [a] to be ruler of his people. When you leave me today, two men will be at Rachel’s grave on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ve found the donkeys you went looking for. Your father no longer cares about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He keeps asking, “What can I do ⌞to find⌟ my son?” ’ Keep going until you come to the oak tree at Tabor. There you will find three men on their way to worship God at Bethel: One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a ⌞full⌟ wineskin. They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you should accept from them. After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines have a military post. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets prophesying as they come from the worship site. They will be led by men playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. Then the Lord’s Spirit will come over you. You will be a different person while you prophesy with them. When these signs happen to you, do what you must, because God is with you. Go ahead of me to Gilgal. Then I will come to sacrifice burnt offerings and make fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to tell you what to do.”

Saul’s Anointing Confirmed by Signs

When Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s attitude. That day all these signs happened. 10 When Saul came to the hill, a group of prophets came to meet him, and God’s Spirit came over him. He prophesied with them. 11 When all who had known him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets?” 12 But a man from that place asked, “But who’s the chief prophet?” So it became a proverb: “Is Saul one of the prophets?” 13 And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the worship site.

14 Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?”

Saul answered, “To look for the donkeys, and when we couldn’t find them, we went to Samuel.”

15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”

16 “He assured us the donkeys had been found,” Saul answered his uncle. But Saul didn’t tell him what Samuel said ⌞about his becoming king⌟.

The Lord Chooses Saul

17 Samuel called the people to ⌞come into the presence of⌟ the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I brought Israel out of Egypt and rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kings who were oppressing you. 19 But now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and distresses. You said, ‘No! Place a king over us.’ Now then, stand in front of the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”

20 When Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 When he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by families, the family of Matri was chosen. Then Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. They looked for him but couldn’t find him. 22 They asked the Lord again, “Has he arrived here yet?”

The Lord answered, “He’s hiding among the baggage.”

23 They ran and got him from there. As he stood among the people, he was a head taller than everyone else. 24 Samuel asked the people, “Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”

Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

25 Samuel explained the laws concerning kingship to the people. He wrote the laws on a scroll, which he placed in front of the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people back to their homes. 26 Saul also went home to Gibeah. With him went some soldiers whose hearts God had touched. 27 However, some good-for-nothing people asked, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and wouldn’t bring him presents, but he didn’t respond.

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 “to be ruler of his people … has anointed you” Greek; Masoretic Text omits these words.