10 Then Samuel took a flask^(A) of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed^(B) you ruler over his inheritance?^{[a](C) 2} When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb,^(D) at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys^(E) you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried^(F) about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?”’

³ “Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel^(G) will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread,^(H) which you will accept from them.

⁵ “After that you will go to Gibeah^(I) of God, where there is a Philistine outpost.^(J) As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets^(K) coming down from the high place^(L) with lyres, timbrels,^(M) pipes^(N) and harps^(O) being played before them, and they will be prophesying.^{(P) 6} The Spirit^(Q) of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed^(R) into a different person. ⁷ Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever^(S) your hand^(T) finds to do, for God is with^(U) you.

⁸ “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal.^(V) I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven^(W) days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

Saul Made King

⁹ As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed^(X) Saul’s heart, and all these signs^(Y) were fulfilled^(Z) that day. ¹⁰ When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit^(AA) of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.^{(AB) 11} When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this^(AC) that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”^(AD)

¹² A man who lived there answered, “And who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”^{(AE) 13} After Saul stopped prophesying,^(AF) he went to the high place.

¹⁴ Now Saul’s uncle^(AG) asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”

“Looking for the donkeys,^(AH)” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”

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

¹⁶ Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys^(AI) had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

¹⁷ Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah^{(AJ) 18} and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed^(AK) you.’ ¹⁹ But you have now rejected^(AL) your God, who saves^(AM) you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king^(AN) over us.’^(AO) So now present^(AP) yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

²⁰ When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹ Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken.^(AQ) Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. ²² So they inquired^(AR) further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

²³ They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller^(AS) than any of the others. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen?^(AT) There is no one like^(AU) him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live^(AV) the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained^(AW) to the people the rights and duties^(AX) of kingship.^(AY) He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah,^(AZ) accompanied by valiant men^(BA) whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But some scoundrels^(BB) said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts.^(BC) But Saul kept silent.

David Defeats the Ammonites^(A)

19 In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites^(B) died, and his son succeeded him as king. ² David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s envoys came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Haven’t his envoys come to you only to explore and spy out^(C) the country and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved them, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵ When someone came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”

⁶ When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious^(D) to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents^[a] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim,^[b] Aram Maakah and Zobah.^{(E) 7} They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maakah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba,^(F) while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.

⁸ On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. ⁹ The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.

¹⁰ Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹¹ He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai^(G) his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites. ¹² Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you. ¹³ Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”

¹⁴ Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.

¹⁷ When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel^(H) and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. ¹⁸ But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophak the commander of their army.

¹⁹ When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him.

So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.