Saul Chosen to Be King

9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(A)Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of ^[a]power. ² And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. ^(B)From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of ^(C)Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they had come to the land of ^(D)Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let ^(E)us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”

⁶ And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city ^(F)a man of God, and he is an honorable man; ^(G)all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”

⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, ^(H)what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸ And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man ^(I)went ^[b]to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called ^(J)a seer.)

¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, ^[c]“Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, ^(K)they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because ^(L)there is a sacrifice of the people today ^(M)on the high place. ¹³ As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

^15 (N)Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time ^(O)I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, ^(P)and you shall anoint him ^[d]commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have ^(Q)looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

¹⁷ So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, ^(R)“There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?”

¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰ But as for ^(S)your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And ^[e]on whom ^(T)is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”

²¹ And Saul answered and said, ^(U)“Am I not a Benjamite, of the ^(V)smallest of the tribes of Israel, and ^(W)my family the least of all the families of the ^[f]tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

²² Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” ²⁴ So the cook took up ^(X)the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they had come down from the high place into the city, ^[g]Samuel spoke with Saul on ^(Y)the top of the house. ²⁶ They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel.

Saul Anointed King

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here ^[h]awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”

Samuel Anoints Saul

10 Then ^(Z)Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, ^(AA)and kissed him and said: “Is it not because ^(AB)the Lord has anointed you commander over ^(AC)His ^[i]inheritance?

Hoshea Reigns in Israel

17 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, ^(A)Hoshea the son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned nine years. ² And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not as the kings of Israel who were before him. ^3 (B)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him; and Hoshea ^(C)became his vassal, and paid him tribute money. ⁴ And the king of Assyria uncovered a conspiracy by Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt, and brought no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

Israel Carried Captive to Assyria^(D)

⁵ Now ^(E)the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria and besieged it for three years. ^6 (F)In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and ^(G)carried Israel away to Assyria, ^(H)and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ For ^(I)so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they had ^(J)feared other gods, ⁸ and ^(K)had walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made. ⁹ Also the children of Israel secretly did against the Lord their God things that were not right, and they built for themselves ^[a]high places in all their cities, ^(L)from watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (M)They set up for themselves sacred pillars and ^(N)wooden images^{[b] (O)}on every high hill and under every green tree. ¹¹ There they burned incense on all the high places, like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them; and they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger, ¹² for they served idols, ^(P)of which the Lord had said to them, ^(Q)“You shall not do this thing.”

¹³ Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah, by all of His ^(R)prophets, ^(S)every seer, saying, ^(T)“Turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.” ¹⁴ Nevertheless they would not hear, but ^(U)stiffened their necks, like the necks of their fathers, who ^(V)did not believe in the Lord their God. ¹⁵ And they ^(W)rejected His statutes ^(X)and His covenant that He had made with their fathers, and His testimonies which He had testified against them; they followed ^(Y)idols, ^(Z)became idolaters, and went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should ^(AA)not do like them. ¹⁶ So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God, ^(AB)made for themselves a molded image and two calves, ^(AC)made a wooden image and worshiped all the ^(AD)host of heaven, ^(AE)and served Baal. ^17 (AF)And they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire, ^(AG)practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and ^(AH)sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. ¹⁸ Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left ^(AI)but the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Also ^(AJ)Judah did not keep the commandments of the Lord their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. ²⁰ And the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and ^(AK)delivered them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them from His ^(AL)sight. ²¹ For ^(AM)He tore Israel from the house of David, and ^(AN)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them commit a great sin. ²² For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them, ²³ until the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, ^(AO)as He had said by all His servants the prophets. ^(AP)So Israel was carried away from their own land to Assyria, as it is to this day.

Prologue

1 The former account I made, O ^(A)Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, ^2 (B)until the day in which ^[a]He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit ^(C)had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, ^3 (D)to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many ^[b]infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit Promised

^4 (E)And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have ^(F)heard from Me; ^5 (G)for John truly baptized with water, ^(H)but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, ^(I)“It is not for you to ^(J)know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ^8 (K)But you shall receive power ^(L)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and ^(M)you shall be ^[c]witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and ^(N)Samaria, and to the ^(O)end of the earth.”

Jesus Ascends to Heaven^(P)

^9 (Q)Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, ^(R)He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them ^(S)in white apparel, ¹¹ who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, ^(T)will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

The Upper Room Prayer Meeting

^12 (U)Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. ¹³ And when they had entered, they went up ^(V)into the upper room where they were staying: ^(W)Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and ^(X)Simon the Zealot; and ^(Y)Judas the son of James. ^14 (Z)These all continued with one ^[d]accord in prayer ^[e]and supplication, with ^(AA)the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with ^(AB)His brothers.

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet

13 Now ^(A)before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that ^(B)His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He ^(C)loved them to the end.

² And ^[a]supper being ended, ^(D)the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, knowing ^(E)that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He ^(F)had come from God and ^(G)was going to God, ^4 (H)rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, ^(I)“Lord, are You washing my feet?”

⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you ^(J)do not understand now, ^(K)but you will know after this.”

⁸ Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Jesus answered him, ^(L)“If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”

⁹ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”

¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and ^(M)you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For ^(N)He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”

¹² So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you ^[b]know what I have done to you? ^13 (O)You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ^14 (P)If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, ^(Q)you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For ^(R)I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ^16 (S)Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ^17 (T)If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Jesus Identifies His Betrayer^(U)

¹⁸ “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the ^(V)Scripture may be fulfilled, ^(W)‘He who eats ^[c]bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ ^19 (X)Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. ^20 (Y)Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”