1 Samuel 1-10

New American Standard Bible 1995

Elkanah and His Wives

1 Now there was a certain man from ^(A)Ramathaim-zophim from the ^(B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was ^(C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. ² He had ^(D)two wives: the name of one was ^(E)Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

³ Now this man would go up from his city ^(F)yearly ^(G)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in ^(H)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. ⁴ When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he ^(I)would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; ⁵ but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, ^(J)but the Lord had closed her womb. ⁶ Her rival, however, ^(K)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. ⁷ It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. ⁸ Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? ^(L)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”

⁹ Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of ^(M)the temple of the Lord. ¹⁰ She, ^[a]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. ¹¹ She ^(N)made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed ^(O)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a ^[b]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and ^(P)a razor shall never come on his head.”

¹² Now it came about, as she ^[c]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. ¹³ As for Hannah, ^(Q)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. ¹⁴ Then Eli said to her, “^(R)How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” ¹⁵ But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman ^[d]oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I ^(S)have poured out my soul before the Lord. ¹⁶ Do not ^[e]consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and ^[f]provocation.” ¹⁷ Then Eli answered and said, “^(T)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel ^(U)grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” ¹⁸ She said, “^(V)Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and ^(W)her face was no longer sad.

Samuel Is Born to Hannah

¹⁹ Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in ^(X)Ramah. And Elkanah ^[g]had relations with Hannah his wife, and ^(Y)the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ It came about ^[h]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “^(Z)Because I have asked him of the Lord.”

²¹ Then the man Elkanah ^(AA)went up with all his household to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. ²² But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will ^(AB)bring him, that he may appear before the Lord and ^(AC)stay there forever.” ^23 (AD)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best ^[i]to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only ^(AE)may the Lord confirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. ²⁴ Now when she had weaned him, ^(AF)she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to ^(AG)the house of the Lord in Shiloh, although the child was young. ²⁵ Then ^(AH)they slaughtered the bull, and ^(AI)brought the boy to Eli. ²⁶ She said, “Oh, my lord! ^(AJ)As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the Lord. ^27 (AK)For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. ^28 (AL)So I have also ^[j]dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is ^[k]dedicated to the Lord.” And ^(AM)he worshiped the Lord there.

Hannah’s Song of Thanksgiving

2 Then Hannah ^(AN)prayed and said,

¹¹ Then Elkanah went to his home at ^(BQ)Ramah. ^(BR)But the boy ministered to the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

¹² Now the sons of Eli were ^[q](BS)worthless men; they did not know the Lord ^13 (BT)and the custom of the priests with the people. When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. ¹⁴ Then he would thrust it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. Thus they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. ¹⁵ Also, before ^(BU)they burned the fat, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.” ¹⁶ If the man said to him, “They must surely ^[r]burn the fat ^[s]first, and then take as much as ^[t]you desire,” then he would say, “No, but you shall give it to me now; and if not, I will take it by force.” ¹⁷ Thus the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men ^(BV)despised the offering of the Lord.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

¹⁸ Now ^(BW)Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy ^[u](BX)wearing a linen ephod. ¹⁹ And his mother would make him a little ^(BY)robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer ^(BZ)the yearly sacrifice. ²⁰ Then Eli would ^(CA)bless Elkanah and his wife and say, “May the Lord give you ^[v]children from this woman in place of ^[w]the one she ^(CB)dedicated to the Lord.” And they went to their own ^[x]home.

^21 (CC)The Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And ^(CD)the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^(CE)all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^(CF)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ He said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(CG)which I hear ^[y]the Lord’s people circulating. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, ^(CH)God will mediate for him; but ^(CI)if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the ^(CJ)Lord desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the boy ^(CK)Samuel ^[z]was growing in stature and in favor both with the Lord and with men.

²⁷ Then ^(CL)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘^(CM)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (CN)Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^(CO)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why do you ^(CP)kick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^(CQ)which I have commanded in My ^(CR)dwelling, and ^(CS)honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[aa]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘^(CT)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^(CU)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(CV)who despise Me will be lightly esteemed. ³¹ Behold, ^(CW)the days are coming when I will break your ^[ab]strength and the ^[ac]strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² You will see ^(CX)the distress of My dwelling, in spite of all the good that ^[ad]I do for Israel; and an ^(CY)old man will not be in your house forever. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar ^[ae]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die ^[af]in the prime of life. ³⁴ This will be ^(CZ)the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(DA)on the same day both of them will die. ³⁵ But ^(DB)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and ^(DC)I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before ^(DD)My anointed always. ³⁶ Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a ^[ag]piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ^[ah]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

The Prophetic Call to Samuel

3 Now ^(DE)the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And ^(DF)word from the Lord was rare in those days, ^[ai]visions were infrequent.

² It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^(DG)his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), ³ and ^(DH)the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was, ⁴ that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “^(DI)Here I am.” ⁵ Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ The Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he ^[aj]answered, “I did not call, my son, lie down again.” ^7 (DJ)Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. ⁸ So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” ¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, ^(DK)I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day ^(DL)I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For ^(DM)I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for ^(DN)the iniquity which he knew, because ^(DO)his sons brought a curse on themselves and ^(DP)he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^(DQ)the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^(DR)opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^(DS)the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(DT)May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “^(DU)It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ Thus ^(DV)Samuel grew and ^(DW)the Lord was with him and ^(DX)let none of his words ^[ak]fail. ²⁰ All Israel ^(DY)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And ^(DZ)the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, ^(EA)because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Philistines Take the Ark in Victory

4 Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside ^(EB)Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in ^(EC)Aphek. ² The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was ^[al]defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. ³ When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “^(ED)Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? ^(EE)Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that ^[am]it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts ^(EF)who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, ^(EG)all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶ When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. ⁷ The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “^(EH)Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. ^9 (EI)Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, ^(EJ)as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought and ^(EK)Israel was ^[an]defeated, and ^(EL)every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. ¹¹ And the ark of God was taken; and ^(EM)the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

¹² Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with ^(EN)his clothes torn and ^[ao]dust on his head. ¹³ When he came, behold, ^(EO)Eli was sitting on his seat ^[ap]by the road eagerly watching, because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. So the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. ¹⁴ When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. ¹⁵ Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and ^(EP)his eyes were set so that he could not see. ¹⁶ The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “^(EQ)How did things go, my son?” ¹⁷ Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” ¹⁸ When he mentioned the ark of God, ^[aq](ER)Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for ^[ar]he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰ And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “^(ES)Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ And she called the boy ^[as]Ichabod, saying, “^(ET)The glory has departed from Israel,” because ^(EU)the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²² She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

Capture of the Ark Provokes God

5 Now the Philistines took the ark of God and ^(EV)brought it from Ebenezer to ^(EW)Ashdod. ² Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to ^(EX)the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. ³ When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, ^(EY)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and ^(EZ)set him in his place again. ⁴ But when they arose early the next morning, behold, ^(FA)Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; ^[at]only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. ⁵ Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor all who enter Dagon’s house ^(FB)tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

⁶ Now ^(FC)the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and ^(FD)He ravaged them and smote them with ^(FE)tumors, both Ashdod and its territories. ⁷ When the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is severe on us and on Dagon our god.” ⁸ So they sent and ^(FF)gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” And they said, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. ⁹ After they had brought it around, ^(FG)the hand of the Lord was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that ^(FH)tumors broke out on them. ¹⁰ So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, “They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to ^[au]us, to kill ^[av]us and ^[aw]our people.” ¹¹ They ^(FI)sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill ^[ax]us and ^[ay]our people.” For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; ^(FJ)the hand of God was very heavy there. ¹² And the men who did not die were smitten with tumors and ^(FK)the cry of the city went up to heaven.

The Ark Returned to Israel

6 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the ^[az]country of the Philistines seven months. ² And ^(FL)the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Tell us ^[ba]how we shall send it to its place.” ³ They said, “If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, ^(FM)do not send it empty; but you shall surely ^(FN)return to Him a guilt offering. Then you will be healed and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you.” ⁴ Then they said, “What shall be the guilt offering which we shall return to Him?” And they said, “Five golden ^(FO)tumors and five golden mice ^(FP)according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on all of ^[bb]you and on your lords. ⁵ So you shall make likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice that ravage the land, and ^(FQ)you shall give glory to the God of Israel; perhaps ^(FR)He will ease His hand from you, ^(FS)your gods, and your land. ⁶ Why then do you harden your hearts ^(FT)as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? When He had severely dealt with them, ^(FU)did they not allow ^[bc]the people to go, and they departed? ⁷ Now therefore, take and ^(FV)prepare a new cart and two milch cows on which there ^(FW)has never been a yoke; and hitch the cows to the cart and take their calves home, away from them. ⁸ Take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart; and put ^(FX)the articles of gold which you return to Him as ^(FY)a guilt offering in a box by its side. Then send it away that it may go. ⁹ Watch, if it goes up by the way of its own territory to ^(FZ)Beth-shemesh, then He has done us this great evil. But if not, then ^(GA)we will know that it was not His hand that struck us; it happened to us by chance.”

¹⁰ Then the men did so, and took two milch cows and hitched them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home. ¹¹ They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the box with the golden mice and the likenesses of their tumors. ¹² And the cows took the straight way in the ^[bd]direction of ^(GB)Beth-shemesh; they went along ^(GC)the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

¹³ Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it. ¹⁴ The cart came into the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stood there where there was a large stone; and they split the wood of the cart and ^(GD)offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. ^15 (GE)The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the Lord. ¹⁶ When the ^(GF)five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.

^17 (GG)These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the Lord: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; ¹⁸ and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, ^(GH)both of fortified cities and of country villages. ^(GI)The large ^[be]stone on which they set the ark of the Lord is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.

^19 (GJ)He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter. ²⁰ The men of Beth-shemesh said, “^(GK)Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall He go up from us?” ²¹ So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of ^(GL)Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up to you.”

Deliverance from the Philistines

7 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the Lord and ^(GM)brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. ² From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

³ Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “^(GN)If you return to the Lord with all your heart, ^(GO)remove the foreign gods and the ^(GP)Ashtaroth from among you and ^(GQ)direct your hearts to the Lord and ^(GR)serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁴ So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served the Lord alone.

⁵ Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to ^(GS)Mizpah and ^(GT)I will pray to the Lord for you.” ⁶ They gathered to Mizpah, and drew water and ^(GU)poured it out before the Lord, and ^(GV)fasted on that day and said there, “^(GW)We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.

⁷ Now when the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the sons of Israel heard it, ^(GX)they were afraid of the Philistines. ⁸ Then the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “^(GY)Do not cease to cry to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” ⁹ Samuel took ^(GZ)a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to the Lord; and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel and ^(HA)the Lord answered him. ¹⁰ Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But ^(HB)the Lord thundered with a great ^[bf]thunder on that day against the Philistines and ^(HC)confused them, so that they were ^[bg]routed before Israel. ¹¹ The men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.

¹² Then Samuel ^(HD)took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named it ^[bh]Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” ^13 (HE)So the Philistines were subdued and ^(HF)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ The cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and ^(HG)the Amorites.

Samuel’s Ministry

¹⁵ Now Samuel ^(HH)judged Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ He used to go annually on circuit to ^(HI)Bethel and ^(HJ)Gilgal and ^(HK)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. ¹⁷ Then his return was to ^(HL)Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he ^(HM)built there an altar to the Lord.

Israel Demands a King

8 And it came about when Samuel was old that ^(HN)he appointed his sons judges over Israel. ² Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in ^(HO)Beersheba. ³ His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and ^(HP)took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^(HQ)Ramah; ⁵ and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now ^(HR)appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” ⁶ But the thing was ^[bi](HS)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And ^(HT)Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for ^(HU)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. ⁸ Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹ Now then, listen to their voice; ^(HV)however, you shall solemnly ^[bj]warn them and tell them of ^(HW)the ^[bk]procedure of the king who will reign over them.”

Warning concerning a King

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to ^(HX)the people who had asked of him a king. ¹¹ He said, “^(HY)This will be the ^[bl]procedure of the king who will reign over you: ^(HZ)he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and ^(IA)they will run before his chariots. ^12 (IB)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to ^[bm]do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. ^14 (IC)He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. ¹⁶ He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and ^[bn]use them for his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ Then ^(ID)you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but ^(IE)the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹ Nevertheless, the people ^(IF)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, ^20 (IG)that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, ^(IH)he repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. ²² The Lord said to Samuel, “^(II)Listen to their voice and ^[bo]appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

Saul’s Search

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(IJ)Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of ^[bp]valor. ² He had a son whose name was Saul, a ^(IK)choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; ^(IL)from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now with you one of the servants, and arise, go search for the donkeys.” ⁴ He passed through ^(IM)the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^(IN)Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^(IO)Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of ^(IP)Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let us return, ^(IQ)or else my father will cease to be concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious for us.” ⁶ He said to him, “Behold now, there is ^(IR)a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ^(IS)all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, ^(IT)perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack and there is ^(IU)no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will ^(IV)tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called ^(IW)a seer.) ¹⁰ Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the slope to the city, ^(IX)they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered them and said, “He is; ^[bq]see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for ^(IY)the people have a sacrifice on ^(IZ)the high place today. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because ^(JA)he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up for you will find him at once.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

God’s Choice for King

¹⁵ Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^(JB)the Lord had ^[br]revealed this to Samuel saying, ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^(JC)you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^(JD)I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord ^[bs]said to him, “^(JE)Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 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 in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is on your mind. ^20 (JF)As for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And ^(JG)for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” ²¹ Saul replied, “^(JH)Am I not a Benjamite, of ^(JI)the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ^[bt]tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “^[bu]Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, ‘Set it ^[bv]aside.’” ²⁴ Then the cook ^(JJ)took up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ^[bw]since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul ^(JK)on the ^[bx]roof. ²⁶ And they arose early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. ²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the servant that he might go ahead of us and pass on, but you remain standing now, that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”

Saul among Prophets

10 Then ^(JL)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, ^(JM)kissed him and said, “Has not ^(JN)the Lord anointed you a ruler over ^(JO)His inheritance? ² When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to ^(JP)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^(JQ)The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has ^[by]ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ ³ Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ^[bz](JR)oak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^(JS)to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; ⁴ and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. ⁵ Afterward you will come to ^[ca](JT)the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^(JU)a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and ^(JV)they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then ^(JW)the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and ^(JX)you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. ⁷ It shall be when these signs come to you, ^(JY)do for yourself what ^[cb]the occasion requires, for ^(JZ)God is with you. ⁸ And ^(KA)you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(KB)sacrifice peace offerings. ^(KC)You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”

⁹ Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God ^(KD)changed ^[cc]his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. ^10 (KE)When they came to ^[cd]the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. ¹¹ It came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? ^(KF)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² A man there said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “^(KG)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ Now ^(KH)Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^(KI)To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ So Saul said to his uncle, “^(KJ)He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

Saul Publicly Chosen King

¹⁷ Thereafter Samuel called the ^(KK)people together to the Lord at Mizpah; ¹⁸ and he said to the sons of Israel, “^(KL)Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the ^[ce]power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But you ^(KM)have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have ^[cf]said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ Now therefore, ^(KN)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.”

²⁰ Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹ Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore ^(KO)they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” So the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.” ²³ So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, ^(KP)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(KQ)whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “^[cg](KR)Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people ^(KS)the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and ^(KT)placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. ²⁶ Saul also went ^(KU)to his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But certain ^[ch](KV)worthless men said, “How can this one deliver us?” And they despised him and ^(KW)did not bring him any present. But he kept silent.