Samuel Anoints Saul

9 There was a Benjamite,^(A) a man of standing,^(B) whose name was Kish^(C) son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. ² Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome^(D) a young man as could be found^(E) anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller^(F) than anyone else.

³ Now the donkeys^(G) belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ So he passed through the hill^(H) country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha,^(I) but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys^(J) were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.

⁵ When they reached the district of Zuph,^(K) Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying^(L) about us.”

⁶ But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God;^(M) he is highly respected, and everything^(N) he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift^(O) to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸ The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have a quarter of a shekel^[a] of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire^(P) of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)^(Q)

¹⁰ “Good,” Saul said to his servant. “Come, let’s go.” So they set out for the town where the man of God was.

¹⁷ Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah^{(A) 18} and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed^(B) you.’ ¹⁹ But you have now rejected^(C) your God, who saves^(D) you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king^(E) over us.’^(F) So now present^(G) yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

²⁰ When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹ Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken.^(H) Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. ²² So they inquired^(I) further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

²³ They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller^(J) than any of the others. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen?^(K) There is no one like^(L) him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live^(M) the king!”