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10 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head, and kissed him on the cheek and said,

“I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the king of his people, Israel! When you leave me, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, in the land of Benjamin; they will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father is worried about you and is asking, ‘How am I to find my son?’ And when you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at the altar at Bethel; one will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will have a bottle of wine. They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept. After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, also known as “God’s Hill,” where the garrison of the Philistines is. As you arrive there you will meet a band of prophets coming down the hill playing a psaltery, a timbrel, a flute, and a harp, and prophesying as they come.

“At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you and you will prophesy with them, and you will feel and act like a different person. From that time on your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for the Lord will guide you. Go to Gilgal and wait there seven days for me, for I will be coming to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. I will give you further instructions when I arrive.”

As Saul said good-bye and started to go, God gave him a new attitude, and all of Samuel’s prophecies came true that day. 10 When Saul and the servant arrived at the Hill of God, they saw the prophets coming toward them, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he too began to prophesy.

11 When his friends heard about it, they exclaimed, “What? Saul a prophet?” 12 And one of the neighbors added, “With a father like his?” So that is the origin of the proverb, “Is Saul a prophet too?”[a]

13 When Saul had finished prophesying he climbed the hill to the altar.

14 “Where in the world did you go?” Saul’s uncle asked him.

And Saul replied, “We went to look for the donkeys, but we couldn’t find them; so we went to the prophet Samuel to ask him where they were.”

15 “Oh? And what did he say?” his uncle asked.

16 “He said the donkeys had been found!” Saul replied. (But he didn’t tell him that he had been anointed as king!)

17 Samuel now called a convocation of all Israel at Mizpah 18-19 and gave them this message from the Lord God: “I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were torturing you. But although I have done so much for you, you have rejected me and have said, ‘We want a king instead!’ All right, then, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”

20 So Samuel called the tribal leaders together before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by sacred lot. 21 Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally the sacred lot selected Saul, the son of Kish. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared!

22 So they asked the Lord, “Where is he? Is he here among us?”

And the Lord replied, “He is hiding in the baggage.”

23 So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. There isn’t his equal in all of Israel!”

And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people again what the rights and duties of a king were; he wrote them in a book and put it in a special place before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again.

26 When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a band of men whose hearts the Lord had touched became his constant companions. 27 There were, however, some bums and loafers who exclaimed, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and refused to bring him presents, but he took no notice.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 10:12 Is Saul a prophet too? This was an expression of surprise concerning worldly Saul becoming religious, equivalent to our “He’s got religion?”

Samuel Anoints Saul

10 Then (A)Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, (B)and kissed him and said: “Is it not because (C)the Lord has anointed you commander over (D)His [a]inheritance? When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by (E)Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin (F)at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about (G)you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up (H)to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will [b]greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. After that you shall come to the hill of God (I)where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down (J)from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; (K)and they will be prophesying. Then (L)the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and (M)you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. And let it be, when these (N)signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for (O)God is with you. You shall go down before me (P)to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. (Q)Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God [c]gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 (R)When they came there to the hill, there was (S)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? (T)Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 Then a man from there answered and said, “But (U)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 (V)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 (W)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 (X)to the Lord (Y)at Mizpah, 18 and said to the children of Israel, (Z)“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 (AA)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 [d]clans.”

20 And when Samuel had (AB)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 (AC)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, (AD)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him (AE)whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?”

So all the people shouted and said, (AF)“Long[e] live the king!”

25 Then Samuel explained to the people (AG)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 (AH)to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27 (AI)But some (AJ)rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, (AK)and brought him no presents. But he [f]held his peace.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 10:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX people Israel; and you shall rule the people of the Lord; LXX, Vg. add And you shall deliver His people from the hands of their enemies all around them. And this shall be a sign to you, that God has anointed you to be a prince.
  2. 1 Samuel 10:4 ask you about your welfare
  3. 1 Samuel 10:9 changed his heart
  4. 1 Samuel 10:19 Lit. thousands
  5. 1 Samuel 10:24 Lit. May the king live
  6. 1 Samuel 10:27 kept silent

10 Entonces Samuel tomó un frasco de aceite y lo derramó sobre la cabeza de Saúl. Luego lo besó y dijo:

—¡Es el Señor quien te ha ungido para que gobiernes a su pueblo![a] Hoy mismo, cuando te alejes de mí y llegues a Selsa, en el territorio de Benjamín, cerca de la tumba de Raquel verás a dos hombres. Ellos te dirán: “Ya encontramos las burras que andabas buscando. Pero tu padre ya no piensa en las burras, sino que ahora está preocupado por ustedes y se pregunta: ‘¿Qué puedo hacer para encontrar a mi hijo?’ ”.

»Más adelante, cuando llegues al gran árbol de Tabor, te encontrarás con tres hombres que se dirigen a Betel para adorar a Dios. Uno de ellos lleva tres cabritos; otro, tres panes; y el otro, un odre de vino. Después de saludarte, te entregarán dos panes. Acéptalos.

»De ahí llegarás a Guibeá de Dios, donde hay una guarnición filistea. Al entrar en la ciudad te encontrarás con un grupo de profetas que bajan del santuario. Vendrán profetizando, precedidos por músicos que tocan liras, panderos, flautas y arpas. Entonces el Espíritu del Señor vendrá sobre ti con poder, y tú profetizarás con ellos y serás una nueva persona. Cuando se cumplan estas señales que has recibido, podrás hacer todo lo que esté a tu alcance, pues Dios estará contigo.

»Baja luego a Guilgal antes que yo. Allí me reuniré contigo para ofrecer holocaustos y sacrificios de comunión y, cuando llegue, te diré lo que tienes que hacer. Pero tú debes esperarme siete días».

Saúl es proclamado rey

Cuando Saúl se dio vuelta para alejarse de Samuel, Dios le cambió el corazón, y ese mismo día se cumplieron todas esas señales. 10 En efecto, al llegar Saúl y su criado a Guibeá, un grupo de profetas salió a su encuentro. Entonces el Espíritu de Dios vino con poder sobre Saúl, quien comenzó a profetizar con ellos. 11 Los que desde antes lo conocían, al verlo profetizar junto con los profetas, se preguntaban unos a otros:

—¿Qué le pasa a Saúl, hijo de Quis? ¿Acaso él también es uno de los profetas?

12 Alguien que vivía allí respondió:

—¿Y quién es el responsable[b] de ellos?

De ahí viene el dicho: «¿Acaso también Saúl es uno de los profetas?».

13 Cuando Saúl acabó de profetizar, subió al santuario. 14 Su tío preguntó a él y a su criado:

—¿Y ustedes dónde estaban?

—Andábamos buscando las burras —respondió Saúl—; pero como no dábamos con ellas, fuimos a ver a Samuel.

15 —Cuéntame lo que les dijo Samuel —pidió el tío de Saúl.

16 —Nos aseguró que ya habían encontrado las burras.

Sin embargo, Saúl no contó a su tío lo que Samuel había dicho acerca del reino.

17 Después de esto, Samuel convocó al pueblo de Israel para que se presentara ante el Señor en Mizpa. 18 Allí dijo a los israelitas: «Así dice el Señor, Dios de Israel: “Yo saqué a Israel de Egipto. Yo los libré a ustedes del poder de los egipcios y de todos los reinos que los oprimían”. 19 Ahora, sin embargo, ustedes han rechazado a su Dios, quien los libra de todas las calamidades y aflicciones. Han dicho: “¡No! ¡Danos un rey que nos gobierne!”. Por tanto, preséntense ahora ante el Señor por tribus y por familias».

20 Dicho esto, Samuel hizo que se acercaran todas las tribus de Israel y, al echar la suerte, fue escogida la tribu de Benjamín. 21 Luego mandó que se acercara la tribu de Benjamín, familia por familia, y la suerte cayó sobre la familia de Matri, y finalmente sobre Saúl, hijo de Quis. Entonces fueron a buscar a Saúl, pero no lo encontraron, 22 de modo que volvieron a consultar al Señor:

—¿Ha venido aquí ese hombre?

—Sí —respondió el Señor—, pero se ha escondido entre el equipaje.

23 Fueron corriendo y lo sacaron de allí. Y, cuando Saúl se puso en medio de la gente, vieron que era tan alto que nadie le llegaba al hombro. 24 Dijo entonces Samuel a todo el pueblo:

—¡Miren al hombre que el Señor ha escogido! ¡No hay nadie como él en todo el pueblo!

—¡Viva el rey! —exclamaron todos.

25 A continuación, Samuel explicó al pueblo las leyes del reino y las escribió en un libro que depositó ante el Señor. Luego mandó que todos regresaran a sus casas.

26 También Saúl se fue a su casa en Guibeá, acompañado por un grupo de hombres ilustres, a quienes Dios les había movido el corazón. 27 Pero algunos malvados protestaron: «¿Y este es el que nos va a salvar?». Y fue tanto su desprecio por Saúl que ni le ofrecieron regalos. Saúl, por su parte, no les hizo caso.

Footnotes

  1. 10:1 su pueblo. Lit. su heredad.
  2. 10:12 responsable. Lit. padre.