1 Samuel 9:16-10:18

English Standard Version

¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, ^(A)and you shall anoint him to be prince^[a] over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. ^(B)For I have seen^[b] my people, because their cry has come to me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ^(C)“Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. ^20 (D)As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?” ²¹ Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, ^(E)from the least of the tribes of Israel? ^(F)And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” ²⁴ So the cook took up ^(G)the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”^[c]

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. ²⁵ And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul ^(H)on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.^{[d] 26} Then at the break of dawn^[e] Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

Saul Anointed King

10 ^(I)Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head ^(J)and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince^[f] over ^(K)his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince^[g] over his heritage. ² When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by ^(L)Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ^(M)‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now ^(N)your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ ³ Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the ^(O)oak of Tabor. Three men ^(P)going up ^(Q)to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. ⁴ And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. ⁵ After that you shall come to ^(R)Gibeath-elohim,^{[h] (S)}where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down ^(T)from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. ^6 (U)Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, ^(V)and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. ⁷ Now when ^(W)these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, ^(X)for God is with you. ⁸ Then go down before me ^(Y)to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^(Z)to sacrifice peace offerings. ^(AA)Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

⁹ When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. ¹⁰ When they came to ^(AB)Gibeah,^[i] behold, a group of prophets met him, ^(AC)and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? ^(AD)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² And a man of the place answered, ^(AE)“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, ^(AF)“Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

^14 (AG)Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, ^(AH)“To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” ¹⁵ And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” ¹⁶ And Saul said to his uncle, ^(AI)“He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Now Samuel called the people together ^(AJ)to the Lord ^(AK)at Mizpah. ¹⁸ And he said to the people of Israel, ^(AL)“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’