1 Samuel 8-11

Lexham English Bible

Israel’s Demand for a King

8 When Samuel grew old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “Look, you are old and your sons do not follow in your ways. So then appoint a king for us to judge^[a] us, like all the nations. ⁶ But the matter was displeasing to Samuel^[b] when they said, “Give us a king to judge^[c] us,” so Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

⁷ Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. ⁸ Like all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt until this day, they have forsaken me and have served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹ And so then, listen to their voice. However, you must earnestly warn them; you must explain to them the custom of the king who will rule over them.”

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who were requesting a king from him. ¹¹ He said, “This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. ¹² He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and those to do his plowing^[d] and to reap his harvest, and those to make weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters as his perfume makers and as cooks and as bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive trees and will give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and to his servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male slaves and your female slaves and the best of your young men^[e] and your donkeys and will use them for his projects.^{[f] 17} He will take a tenth of your flocks,^[g] and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸ So you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you on that day!” ¹⁹ However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, “No, but there must be a king over us, ²⁰ so that we also^[h] may be like all the nations, and our king may rule us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh. ²² Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel spoke to the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his own town.”

Saul, the Requested King, Introduced

9 Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, a very wealthy man.^{[i] 2} He had a son whose name was Saul,^[j] a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the Israelites^[k] more handsome than he was; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.

³ Now the female donkeys of Kish the father of Saul got lost, and Kish said to Saul his son, “Please take one of the servants with you and get up; go and seek the female donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim; he passed through the land of Shalisha but they did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim but they were not there. He passed through the land of Benjamin but did not find them.

⁵ When they entered the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the female donkeys and worry about us!” ⁶ But he^[l] said to him, “Look, a man of God is in this town, and the man is honored. All that he says certainly comes true. So then let us go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey on which we have gone.” ⁷ So Saul said to his servant, “Look, we may go, but what should we bring to the man? For the bread is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?” ⁸ The servant again answered Saul and said, “Look, I have^[m] in my hand a quarter shekel of silver! I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: “Come, let us go up to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.) ¹⁰ So Saul said to his servant, “Your suggestion is a good one.^[n] Come, let us go.” And they went to the town where the man of God was.

¹¹ They were going up the ascent of the town when they found young women going out to draw water. They said to them, “Is there the seer here?” ¹² They answered them and said, “There is. Look, he is just in front of you! Hurry now, because he has come to the town today, because there is a sacrifice for the people today at the high place. ¹³ As soon as you enter the town, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. Then afterward the invited guests will eat. So then, go up, because you will find him today!” ¹⁴ So they went up to the town. As they were entering into the middle of the town, Samuel was coming forth to meet them, to go up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now Yahweh had revealed this to^[o] Samuel the day before Saul arrived, saying, ¹⁶ “This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen the suffering of my people, because their cry of distress has come to me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh answered him, “Here is the man about whom I told you! This is the one who will govern my people.”

¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate and said, “Please tell me, where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me^[p] to the high place, and you will eat with me today; then I will send you away in the morning. I will tell you all that is on your mind.^{[q] 20} And as for your female donkeys that were lost three days ago,^[r] do not be concerned about them,^[s] because they have been found. For whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all the house of your father?”

²¹ Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the humblest of all the families of the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me in this way?”^{[t] 22} So Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them to a room in the building and gave them a place at the head of the invited guests.^[u] There were about thirty men. ²³ Then Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion that I gave to you, about which I said to you, ‘Keep it with you.’” ²⁴ So the cook took up the shank and what was on it and put it before Saul, and he^[v] said, “Look, the saved portion^[w] is placed before you^[x]—eat, because it has been kept for you for the appointed time,” and he said,^[y] “I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ When they came down from the high place to the town, he spoke with Saul on the roof. ²⁶ They got up early, and as dawn was breaking,^[z] Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I can send you away.” So Saul got up and the two of them, he and Samuel, went outside. ²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us. When he has passed, you stand here a while,^[aa] so that I can make known to you the word of God.”

Saul Is Anointed as King

10 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it over his head and kissed him and said, “Has not^[ab] Yahweh anointed you as leader over his inheritance? ² As you go from with me today,^[ac] you will find two men near the burial site of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The female donkeys that you went to search for have been found.’ Now look, your father is no longer concerned about^[ad] the female donkeys and has begun worrying about you,^[ae] saying, ‘What should I do about my son?’ ³ Then you will go on from there and further you will come to the oak of Tabor. There three men will meet you, who are going up to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three male kid goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine. ⁴ They will ask how you are doing^[af] and will give you two loaves, which you will take from their hand. ⁵ After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God,^[ag] where there are sentries^[ah] of the Philistines. Just as you enter^[ai] the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then the Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you,^[aj] and you will prophesy with them; and you will turn into a different person.^{[ak] 7} When these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. ⁸ Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. Look, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to make^[al] fellowship offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you should do.” ⁹ Just as he turned^[am] his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God changed his^[an] heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day.

¹⁰ When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him,^[ao] and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And when^[ap] all who knew him formerly^[aq] saw that he prophesied with prophets, the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he finished prophesying, he went to the high place. ¹⁴ Then Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To search for the female donkeys; and when we saw none, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ So Saul’s uncle said to him, “Please tell me, what did Samuel say to you?” ¹⁶ Then Saul said to his uncle, “He told us for certain that the female donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingship of which Samuel had spoken.

¹⁷ Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah, ¹⁸ and he said to the Israelites,^[ar] “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But you today have rejected your God who always delivers you from all of your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, ‘No, but you must appoint a king over us!’ So then present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your clans.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. ²¹ Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was selected by lot. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, and they sought him, but he could not be found. ²² So they inquired again of Yahweh, “Did the man come here?” ^[as] And Yahweh said, “Look, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” ²³ So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!” And all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote the rules down on a scroll and laid it before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house. ²⁶ And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the troops whose hearts^[at] God had touched went with him. ²⁷ However, some worthless men^[au] said, “How can this man deliver us?” So they despised him and brought no gift to him, but he kept silent.^[av]

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us^[aw] and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty^[ax] with you, by gouging out the right eye of each of you, so that I can make it a disgrace for all Israel.” ³ So the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we may send messengers in all the territory of Israel, and if there is no deliverer for us, then we will come out to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported these things to^[ay] the people. Then all the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵ Just then,^[az] Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, “What is the matter with the people, that they are weeping?” So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

⁶ Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry.^{[ba] 7} So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever is not going out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen.” Then the fear of Yahweh fell on the people and they went out as one man. ⁸ He mustered them at Bezek; the Israelites^[bb] were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah were thirty thousand. ⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you will say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance for you will come when the sun is hot.’”^[bc] When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced. ¹⁰ The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.”^{[bd] 11} And the^[be] next day Saul placed the people in three divisions. Then they came into the middle of the camp at the early morning watch^[bf] and struck down the Ammonites^[bg] until the heat of the day. It happened that the remainder were scattered so that no two among them remained together.^{[bh] 12} Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is the one who asked, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Give the men to us that we may kill them.” ¹³ But Saul said, “No one will be put to death on this day, because today^[bi] Yahweh has provided deliverance in Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal and they made Saul king there before Yahweh in Gilgal. They sacrificed fellowship offerings there before Yahweh. Then Saul rejoiced there greatly along with all the men of Israel.