10 Then Samuel took a jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord anoints you as ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and protect them from all their enemies. And this is the proof to you that the Lord has chosen you^[a] to be the ruler of his people: ² When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you were looking for have been found, so that your father isn't worried any more about them but about you, and he keeps asking, ‘What shall I do about my son?’ ³ You will go on from there until you come to the sacred tree at Tabor, where you will meet three men on their way to offer a sacrifice to God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats, another one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and the third one will have a leather bag full of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept. ⁵ Then you will go to the Hill of God in Gibeah, where there is a Philistine camp. At the entrance to the town you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the altar on the hill, playing harps, drums, flutes, and lyres. They will be dancing and shouting. ⁶ Suddenly the spirit of the Lord will take control of you, and you will join in their religious dancing and shouting and will become a different person. ⁷ When these things happen, do whatever God leads you to do. ⁸ You will go ahead of me to Gilgal, where I will meet you and offer burnt sacrifices and fellowship sacrifices. Wait there seven days until I come and tell you what to do.”

⁹ When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave Saul a new nature. And everything Samuel had told him happened that day. ¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Suddenly the spirit of God took control of him, and he joined in their ecstatic dancing and shouting. ¹¹ People who had known him before saw him doing this and asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Has Saul become a prophet?” ^12 (A)A man who lived there asked, “How about these other prophets—who do you think their fathers are?” This is how the saying originated, “Has even Saul become a prophet?” ¹³ When Saul finished his ecstatic dancing and shouting, he went to the altar on the hill.

¹⁴ Saul's uncle saw him and the servant, and he asked them, “Where have you been?”

“Looking for the donkeys,” Saul answered. “When we couldn't find them, we went to see Samuel.”

¹⁵ “And what did he tell you?” Saul's uncle asked.

¹⁶ “He told us that the animals had been found,” Saul answered—but he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about his becoming king.