1 Samuel 10:7-27

New King James Version

⁷ And let it be, when these ^(A)signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for ^(B)God is with you. ⁸ You shall go down before me ^(C)to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. ^(D)Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

⁹ So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God ^[a]gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. ^10 (E)When they came there to the hill, there was ^(F)a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? ^(G)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² Then a man from there answered and said, “But ^(H)who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

¹⁴ Then Saul’s ^(I)uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?”

So he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.”

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

¹⁶ So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been ^(J)found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said.

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Then Samuel called the people together ^(K)to the Lord ^(L)at Mizpah, ¹⁸ and said to the children of Israel, ^(M)“Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ ^19 (N)But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your ^[b]clans.”

²⁰ And when Samuel had ^(O)caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they ^(P)inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”

²³ So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, ^(Q)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(R)whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?”

So all the people shouted and said, ^(S)“Long^[c] live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel explained to the people ^(T)the behavior of royalty, 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 ^(U)to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. ^27 (V)But some ^(W)rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, ^(X)and brought him no presents. But he ^[d]held his peace.