Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel was old, he ·made [appointed] his sons judges ·for [over] Israel. ² His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba [^Cin the Negev to the extreme south]. ³ But Samuel’s sons did not ·live as he did [^Lwalk/follow in his ways]. They ·tried to get money dishonestly [were greedy; wandered after money], and they accepted ·money secretly [bribes] ·to make wrong judgments [and perverted justice/made biased decisions].

⁴ So all the elders ·came together [assembled] and met Samuel at Ramah [1:1]. ⁵ They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t ·live as you do [^Lwalk/follow in your ways]. Give us a king to ·rule over [judge] us like all the other nations [Deut. 17:14].”

⁶ When the elders said, “Give us [Appoint; ^LNow, set for us] a king to ·rule over [judge] us,” ·Samuel was not pleased [^Lit was evil/wrong in the eyes of Samuel]. So he prayed to the Lord, ⁷ and the Lord told Samuel, “Listen to ·whatever [^Lthe voice of] the people [^Lregarding what they] say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. ⁸ They are doing as they have always done. When I ·took them out of [brought them up from] Egypt, they ·left [abandoned; deserted; forsook] me and ·served [followed] other gods. They are doing the same to you. ⁹ Now ·listen to the people [listen to their voice; do as they ask], but [^Lsolemnly] warn them ·what the king who rules over them will do [about the way/manner/custom in which he will rule/reign over them].”

¹⁰ So Samuel told those who had asked him for a king ·what [everything; ^Lall the words] the Lord had said. ¹¹ Samuel said, “If you have a king ·ruling [reigning] over you, ·this is what he will do [he will act this way; ^Lthis will be the way/manner/custom in which he will rule/reign over you]: He will ·take [draft] your sons and make them serve with his chariots and his ·horses [or charioteers; horsemen], and they will run in front of the king’s chariot. ¹² He will make some of your sons commanders over thousands or over fifties. He will make some of your other sons plow his ·ground [fields] and ·reap his harvest [harvest his crops]. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to make perfume and cook and bake for him. ¹⁴ He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his ·servants [officials; attendants]. ¹⁵ He will take ·one-tenth [a tithe] of your ·grain [crops; seed] and ·grapes [vineyards] and give it to his officers and ·servants [officials; attendants]. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them all for his own work. ¹⁷ He will take ·one-tenth [a tithe] of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his ·slaves [servants]. ¹⁸ ·When that time comes [^LIn that day], you will cry out because of the king you ·chose [selected]. But the Lord will not ·answer [help] you then.”

¹⁹ But the people ·would not [^Lrefused to] listen to [^Lthe voice of] Samuel. They said, “No! We ·want [are determined to have] a king to rule over us. ²⁰ Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will ·judge for [govern; rule over] us and go ·with [before] us and fight our battles.”

²¹ After Samuel ·heard [listened to] all that the people said, he repeated their words ·to the Lord [^Lin the Lord’s hearing/ears]. ²² The Lord answered, “You must ·listen to them [do as they say]. ·Give [Appoint] them a king.”

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go back [^Leach of you] to your ·towns [own town/city].”

Saul Looks for His Father’s Donkeys

9 Kish, son of Abiel from the tribe of Benjamin, was an ·important man [man of wealth/rank/standing/valor]. (Abiel was the son of Zeror, who was the son of Becorath, who was the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.) ² Kish had a son named Saul, who was a ·fine [handsome] young man. There was no Israelite ·better [more handsome] than he. Saul stood ·a head [head and shoulders] taller than any other man in Israel.

³ Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, “Take one of the servants, and go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ Saul went through the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim and the ·land [area; territory] of Shalisha, but he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the ·land [area; territory] of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the ·land [area; territory] of Benjamin, but they still did not find them. ⁵ When they arrived in the area of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the servant answered, “A man of God [^Ca title for a prophet] is in this town. People ·respect [honor] him because everything he says comes true. Let’s go ·into the town now [^Lthere]. Maybe he can tell us ·something about the journey we have taken [or what way to go].”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go into the town, what can we give him? The ·food [bread] in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. ·Do we have anything [What do we have]?”

⁸ Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have ·one-tenth of an ounce [^La quarter of a shekel] of silver. ·Give [or I will give] it to the man of God. Then he will tell us ·about our journey [^Lwhat to do/way to go].” ⁹ (In ·the past [^Lthose days], if someone in Israel wanted to ·ask something from [inquire of] God, he would say, “Let’s go to the seer.” We call the person a prophet today, but in ·the past [^Lthose days] he was called a seer.)

¹⁰ Saul said to his servant, “·That’s a good idea [Well said]. Come, let’s go.” So they went toward the town where the man of God was.

¹¹ As Saul and the servant were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to ·get [draw] water. Saul and the servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² The young women answered, “Yes, he’s here. He’s ahead of you. Hurry now. He has just come to our town today, because the people will offer a sacrifice at the ·place of worship [high place]. ¹³ As soon as you enter the town, you ·will [can] find him before he goes up to the ·place of worship [high place] to eat. The people will not begin eating until the seer comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, the guests will eat. Go now, and you should find him [^Lquickly; at once].”

Saul Meets Samuel

¹⁴ Saul and the servant went up to the town. Just as they ·entered it [^Larrived in the midst of the town], they saw Samuel coming toward them on his way up to the ·place of worship [high place].

¹⁵ The day before Saul came, the Lord had ·told [revealed this to] Samuel: ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the ·land [territory] of Benjamin. ·Appoint [Anoint] him ·to lead [^Lruler/prince over] my people Israel. He will ·save [rescue; deliver] my people from the [^Lhand of the] Philistines. I have seen ·the suffering of my people, and I have listened to their cry [^Lmy people because their cry has reached me].”

¹⁷ When Samuel first saw Saul, the Lord said to Samuel, “This is the man I told you about. He will ·organize [rule over; govern] my people.”

¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel at the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹ Samuel answered, “I am the seer. Go ·with [ahead of] me to the ·place of worship [high place]. Today you and your servant are to eat with me. Tomorrow morning I will ·answer all your questions [^Ltell you all that is in your heart/mind] and send you home. ²⁰ Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago, because they have been found. Soon all the ·wealth [desires] of Israel will ·belong to [be focused/fixed on; turn to] you and your family.”

²¹ Saul answered, “·But I am [^LAm I not…?] from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel. And ·my family group is [^Lis not my family/clan…?] the ·smallest [least] in the tribe of Benjamin. Why are you ·saying such things [talking this way to me]?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into ·a large room [the hall] and ·gave them a choice place at [placed them at the head of] the table. About thirty guests were there. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the meat I gave you, the portion I told you to set aside.”

²⁴ So the cook took the thigh and put it on the table in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This is the meat saved for you. Eat it, because it was set aside for you for this ·special [appointed] time. ·As I said, ‘I had invited the people.’ [or … even before I invited these others].” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ After they finished eating, they came down from the ·place of worship [high place] and went to the town. Then Samuel ·talked with [or prepared a bed for] Saul on the roof of his house [^Cthe flat roofs of Israelite houses served as living space]. ²⁶ At dawn they got up, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” So Saul got up and went out of the house with Samuel. ²⁷ As Saul, his servant, and Samuel were getting near the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay, ·because I have a message from [so I may give/proclaim the word of] God for you.”

Samuel Appoints Saul

10 Samuel took a ·jar [flask; vial] of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “The Lord has ·appointed [anointed] you ·to lead [ruler; prince over] his ·people^[a] [special possession; inheritance]. ² After you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah [Gen. 35:19]. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you were looking for have been found. But now your father has stopped thinking about his donkeys and is ·worrying [anxious] about you. He is asking, “What will I do about my son?” ’

³ “Then you will go on until you reach the ·big [^Loak] tree at Tabor. Three men ·on their way to worship [^Lgoing up to] God at Bethel will meet you there. One man will be carrying three ·goats [kids]. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. And the third will have a ·leather bag [skin] full of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you must accept. ⁵ Then you will go to ·Gibeah [or the hill] of God, where a Philistine ·camp [garrison] is. When you approach this town, a group of prophets will come down from the ·place of worship [high place]. They will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will ·rush upon [come on; seize; possess] you with power. You will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into a different man. ⁷ After these signs happen, do ·whatever you find to do [what must be done; what you see fit to do; ^Lwhat your hand finds to do], because God ·will help [is with] you [^CSaul was supposed to attack the garrison, but he did not do so].

⁸ “Go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you to offer whole burnt offerings [Lev. 1] and to sacrifice ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1]. But you must wait seven days. Then I will come and ·tell [show; reveal to] you what to do [^CSaul did not do this either].”

Saul Made King

⁹ When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God ·changed Saul’s [gave Saul a new/another] heart. All these signs ·came true [were fulfilled; occurred] that day. ¹⁰ When they arrived at Gibeah, Saul met a ·group [band; procession] of prophets. The Spirit of God ·rushed upon [overwhelmed; seized; possessed] him, and he prophesied with the prophets. ¹¹ When people who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What has happened to Kish’s son? Is even Saul ·one of [among] the prophets?”

¹² A man who lived there ·said [answered; retorted], “Who is the father of these prophets [^CSaul’s prophesying amazed and confused him]?” So this became a ·famous saying [proverb]: “Is ·even Saul one of [Saul also among] the prophets?” ¹³ When Saul finished prophesying, he ·entered the place of worship [came/went to the high place].

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

Saul said, “We were looking for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we went to talk to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle asked, “Please tell me. What did Samuel say to you?”

¹⁶ Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had already been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about ·his becoming king [the kingdom; ^CSaul should have announced publicly that he was king].

¹⁷ Samuel called all the people of Israel ·to meet with [to] the Lord at Mizpah [7:5–11, 15–17]. ¹⁸ He said [^Lto the sons of Israel], “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I ·led [brought up] Israel out of Egypt. I ·saved [rescued; delivered] you from Egypt’s ·control [^Lhand] and from [^Lthe hand of] other kingdoms that were ·troubling [oppressing] you.’ ¹⁹ But ·now [today] you have rejected your God. He ·saves [rescues; delivers] you from all your ·troubles [calamities; disasters; miseries] and ·problems [distresses], but you said, ‘No! ·We want [Appoint; Set] a king to rule over us.’ Now come, ·stand [present yourselves] before the Lord in your tribes and ·family groups [clans].”

²⁰ When Samuel ·gathered [brought forward] ·all [each of] the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. ²¹ Samuel had ·them [the tribe of Benjamin] pass by in ·family groups [clans], and Matri’s family was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by, and Saul son of Kish was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. But when they looked for Saul, ·they could not find him [he had disappeared]. ²² They ·asked [inquired further of] the Lord, “Has ·Saul [^Lthe man] come here yet?”

The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding ·behind [among] the baggage.”

²³ So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was ·a head [head and shoulders] taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. ·There is no one like him [He has no equal] among all the people.”

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

²⁵ Samuel explained the ·rights and duties [ordinances; customs] of the king and then wrote them ·in a book [on a scroll] and put it before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. ·God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him […accompanied by warriors/valiant men whose hearts God had touched]. ²⁷ But some ·troublemakers [scoundrels; worthless men] said, “How can this man ·save [rescue; deliver] us?” They ·disapproved of [scorned; despised] Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept ·quiet^[b] [silent; held his peace; ignored them].

Nahash Troubles Jabesh Gilead

11 About a month later^[c] Nahash the Ammonite and his army ·surrounded [attacked and besieged] the city of Jabesh in Gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, “·Make [^LCut] a ·treaty [covenant] with us, and we will ·serve [be subject to] you.”

² But Nahash the Ammonite answered, “I will ·make a treaty [^Lcut] with you only if I’m allowed to ·poke [gouge] out the right eye of each of you. Then all Israel will be ·ashamed [disgraced]!”

³ The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Give us seven days to send messengers through all [^Lthe borders/territories of] Israel. If no one comes to ·help [rescue; deliver] us, we will ·give ourselves up [surrender] to you.”

⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived and told the people the news, they ·cried loudly [^Lraised their voices and wept]. ⁵ Saul was coming home from plowing the fields with his oxen when he heard the people crying. He asked, “What’s wrong with the people that they are crying?” Then they told Saul what the ·messengers [^Lmen] from Jabesh had said. ⁶ When Saul heard their words, God’s Spirit ·rushed upon him with power [came mightily/powerfully on Saul], and he ·became very angry [burned with anger]. ⁷ So he took a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. Then he gave the pieces of the oxen to messengers and ordered them to carry them through all the land of Israel [^Ca ritual to curse an enemy].

The messengers said, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not ·follow [march with; ^Cinto battle] Saul and Samuel.” So the ·people became very afraid of the Lord [^Lterror/dread of the Lord fell on the people]. They all ·came together [marched out] as if they were one person. ⁸ Saul ·gathered [mobilized; mustered] the people together at Bezek. There were three hundred thousand men from Israel and thirty^[d] thousand men from Judah.

⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the people at Jabesh Gilead this: ‘·Before the day warms up tomorrow [By the time the sun is hot], you will be ·saved [rescued; delivered].’” So the messengers went and reported this to the people at Jabesh, and they were ·very happy [elated; overjoyed]. ¹⁰ The people said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will ·come out to meet [surrender to] you. Then you can do ·anything you want to us [to us whatever seems good to you].”

¹¹ The next morning Saul divided his soldiers into three ·groups [companies; divisions]. At dawn they entered the Ammonite camp and defeated them ·before [until] the heat of the day. The Ammonites who ·escaped [survived] were scattered; no two of them were still together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who ·didn’t want Saul as king [was it that questioned, ‘Will Saul rule/reign over us]?’ Bring them here and we will kill them!”

¹³ But Saul said, “No! No one will be put to death today. Today the Lord has ·saved [rescued; delivered] Israel!”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. There we will ·again promise to obey the king [renew the kingdom].” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there, before the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered ·fellowship [peace; communion] offerings to the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites ·had a great celebration [rejoiced greatly].

Samuel’s Farewell Speech

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have ·done everything you wanted me to do [listened to everything you said] and have ·put [appointed] a king over you. ² Now you have a king ·to lead [walking before/in front of] you. I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have ·been your leader [walked before/in front of you] since I was young [^Luntil this day]. ³ Here I am. ·If I have done anything wrong, you must testify [Bear witness] against me before the Lord and his ·appointed king [anointed]. Did I steal anyone’s ox or donkey? Did I ·hurt [oppress] or cheat anyone? Did I ever secretly accept a bribe to ·look the other way [^Lclose my eyes]? If I did any of these things, I will make ·it right [amends].”

⁴ The Israelites answered, “You have not cheated us, or ·hurt [oppressed] us, or taken anything ·unfairly from anyone [from anyone’s hand].”

⁵ Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness ·to what you have said [against you]. His ·appointed [anointed] king is also a witness today that you did not find anything ·wrong in me [^Lin my hand].”

“He is our witness,” they said.

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ·chose [appointed; ^Lmade] Moses and Aaron and brought your ·ancestors [fathers] out of Egypt. ⁷ Now, ·stand there [or take your stand], and I will ·remind you of [plead with you/confront you concerning] all the ·good things [righteous/saving acts] the Lord did for you and your ·ancestors [fathers].

⁸ “After Jacob [^Cthe Israelites] ·entered [went to; arrived in] Egypt, ·his descendants [they] cried to the Lord for help. So the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your ·ancestors [fathers] out of Egypt and ·brought them to live [settled them] in this place.

⁹ “But they forgot the Lord their God. So he ·handed them over as slaves [sold them] to Sisera [Judg. 4–5], the commander of the army of Hazor, and ·as slaves to [into the hand of] the Philistines [Judg. 13–16] and the king of Moab. ·They all […all of whom had] fought against your ·ancestors [fathers]. ¹⁰ Then your ancestors cried to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned. We have ·left [turned away from; forsaken] the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths [^Cgods and goddesses of the Canaanites]. But now ·save [rescue; deliver] us from [^Lthe hand of] our enemies, and we will ·serve [worship] you.’ ¹¹ So the Lord sent ·Gideon [^LJerubbaal; ^Canother name for Gideon; Judg. 6:32], ·Barak [^LBedan; Judg. 4:6], Jephthah [Judg. 11–12], and Samuel. He ·saved [rescued; delivered] you from [^Lthe hands of] your enemies around you, and you lived in ·safety [security]. ¹² But when you saw Nahash king of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons of Ammon] ·coming [marching] against you, you said, ‘No! We want a king to ·rule [reign] over us!’—even though the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ ·Now [All right; So] here is the king you chose, the one you asked for. The Lord has ·put [set; appointed] him over you. ¹⁴ ·You must [If you…] ·honor [fear] the Lord and ·serve [worship] him. You must ·obey [listen to] his ·word [voice] and not ·turn [rebel] against ·his commands [^Lthe mouth of the Lord]. Both you and the king ·ruling [reigning] over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, it will be well with you. ¹⁵ But if you don’t ·obey [listen to the voice of] the Lord, and if you ·turn [rebel] against ·his commands [^Lthe mouth of the Lord], ·he [the hand of the Lord] will be ·against [heavy on] you. ·He will do to you what he did to […as it was on] your ·ancestors [fathers].

¹⁶ “Now stand ·still [where you are] and see the ·great thing [wonder; ^Lthing] the Lord will do before your eyes. ¹⁷ ·It is [Is it not…?] now the time of the wheat harvest [^Cthe dry season]. I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain [^Cthe rain would destroy the wheat harvest]. Then you will know what an ·evil [wicked] thing you did ·against [in the eyes/sight of] the Lord when you ·asked for [demanded] a king.”

¹⁸ Then Samuel ·prayed [called] to the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So the people were ·very afraid [in awe] of the Lord and Samuel. ¹⁹ ·They [^LAll the people] said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of ·asking for [demanding] a king.”

²⁰ Samuel answered [^Lthe people], “Don’t be afraid. It’s true that you did ·wrong [evil], but don’t turn away from the Lord. ·Serve [Worship] the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ ·Idols [Futile things] are of no use, so don’t worship them. They can’t help you or ·save [rescue; deliver] you. They are ·useless [futile]! ²² For his own [^Lname’s] sake, the Lord won’t ·leave [abandon; reject; desert] his people. ·Instead, [For; Because] he was pleased to make you his own people. ²³ [^LAs for me,] ·I will surely not [Far be it from me to] stop praying for you, because that would be sinning against the Lord. I will ·teach [instruct] you ·what [in the way that] is good and right. ²⁴ ·You must honor [Fear only] the Lord and ·truly serve [worship] him with all your heart. ·Remember [Keep in mind; Consider] the ·wonderful [great] things he did for you! ²⁵ But if you ·are stubborn and do [persist in doing] evil, he will sweep you and your king away.”