1 Samuel 8-10

International Children’s Bible

Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges for Israel. ² His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. ³ But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly. They took money secretly to be dishonest in their judging.

⁴ So all the elders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”

⁶ When the elders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the Lord. ⁷ The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. ⁸ They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me. They served other gods. They are doing the same to you. ⁹ Now listen to the people. But give them a warning. Tell them what the king who rules over them will do.”

¹⁰ Samuel answered those who had asked him for a king. He told them all the words of the Lord. ¹¹ Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons. He will make them serve with his chariots and his horses. They will run in front of the king’s chariot. ¹² The king will make some of your sons commanders over 1,000 men or over 50 men. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ This king will take your daughters. Some of your daughters will make perfume. Others will cook and bake for him. ¹⁴ He will take your best fields, vineyards and olive groves. He will give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your men servants and girl servants. He will take your best cattle and your donkeys. He will use them all for his own work. ¹⁷ He will take one-tenth of your flocks. And you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. The Lord will not answer you then.”

¹⁹ But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king to rule over us. ²⁰ Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge us. He will go with us and fight our battles.”

²¹ Samuel heard all that the people said. Then he repeated all their words to the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”

Saul Looks for His Father’s Donkeys

9 Kish son of Abiel was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was an important man. (Abiel was the son of Zeror. And Zeror was the son of Becorath. He was the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.) ² Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a fine young man. There was no Israelite better than he. Saul stood a head taller than any other man in Israel.

³ Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, “Take one of the servants. Go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim. And he went through the land of Shalisha. But he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin. But they still did not find the donkeys. ⁵ They arrived in the area of Zuph. Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back. My father will stop thinking about the donkeys. He will start worrying about us.”

⁶ But the servant answered, “A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let’s go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken.”

⁷ Saul said to his servant, “If we go into the town, what can we give him? The food in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. Do we have anything at all to give him?”

⁸ Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. Give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us about our journey.” ⁹ (In the past, someone in Israel might want to ask something from God. If so, he would say, “Let’s go to the seer.” We call the person a man of God today. But in the past he was called a “seer.”)

¹⁰ Saul said to his servant, “That is a good idea. Come, let’s go.” So they went toward the town where the man of God was.

¹¹ Saul and the servant were going up the hill to the town. On the way they met some young women coming out to get water. Saul and the servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² The young women answered, “Yes, he’s here. He’s ahead of you. Hurry now. He has just come to our town today. This is because the people will offer a sacrifice at the place of worship. ¹³ When you enter the town, you will find him. He will be there before he goes up to the place of worship to eat. The people will not begin eating until the seer comes. He must bless the sacrifice. After that, the guests will eat. Go now, and you should find him.”

Saul Meets Samuel

¹⁴ Saul and the servant went up to the town. Just as they entered the town, they saw Samuel. He was on his way up to the place of worship. So he was coming out of the city toward them.

¹⁵ The day before Saul came, the Lord had told Samuel: ¹⁶ “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man. He will be from Benjamin. You must appoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines. I have seen the suffering of my people. I have listened to their cry.”

¹⁷ When Samuel first saw Saul, the Lord spoke to Samuel. He said, “This is the man I told you about. He will rule my people.”

¹⁸ Saul came near Samuel at the gate. Saul said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

¹⁹ Samuel answered, “I am the seer. Go ahead of me to the place of worship. Today you and your servant are to eat with me. Tomorrow morning I will send you home. And I will answer all your questions. ²⁰ Don’t worry about the donkeys you lost three days ago. They have been found. Israel now wants you and all your father’s family.”

²¹ Saul answered, “But I am from the tribe of Benjamin. It’s the smallest tribe in Israel. And my family group is the smallest in the tribe of Benjamin. Why do you say Israel wants me?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into a large room. He gave them a chief place at the table. About 30 guests were there. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the meat I gave you. It’s the portion I told you to set aside.”

²⁴ So the cook took the thigh and put it on the table in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This is the meat saved for you. Eat it because it was set aside for you for this special time. As I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵ After they finished eating, they came down from the place of worship. They went to the town. Then Samuel talked with Saul on the roof^[a] of his house. ²⁶ At dawn they got up, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof. He said, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” So Saul got up. He went out of the house with Samuel. ²⁷ Saul, his servant and Samuel were getting near the edge of the city. Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us. I have a message from God for you.”

Samuel Appoints Saul

10 Samuel took a jar of olive oil. He poured the oil on Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “The Lord has appointed you to be leader of his people Israel. You will rule over the people of the Lord. You will save them from their enemies all around. This will be the sign that the Lord has appointed you as leader of his people. ² After you leave me today, you will meet two men. They will be near Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you were looking for have been found. But now your father has stopped thinking about his donkeys. He is worrying about you. He is asking, “What will I do about my son?”’

³ “Then you will go on until you reach the great tree at Tabor. There three men will meet you. They will be on their way to worship God at Bethel. One man will be carrying three young goats. The second man 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 loaves of bread. You will accept the bread from them. ⁵ Then you will go to Gibeah of God. There is a Philistine camp there. When you come near this town, a group of prophets will come out. They will be coming from the place of worship. And they will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes and lyres. And they will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord will enter you with power. You will prophesy with these prophets. You will be changed into a different man. ⁷ After these signs happen, do whatever you find to do. God will help you.

⁸ “Go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you. Then I will offer whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. But you must wait seven days. Then I will come and tell you what to do.”

Saul Made King

⁹ When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart. All these signs came true that day. ¹⁰ When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, Saul met a group of prophets. The Spirit of God entered him. And he prophesied with the prophets. ¹¹ People who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets. They asked each other, “What has happened to Kish’s son? Is even Saul one of the prophets?”

¹² A man who lived there said, “Who is the father of these prophets?” This became a famous saying: “Is even Saul one of the prophets?” ¹³ When Saul finished prophesying, he went to the place of worship.

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”

Saul said, “We were looking for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we went to talk to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle asked, “Please tell me. What did Samuel say to you?”

¹⁶ Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had already been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about his becoming king.

¹⁷ Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet with the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I led Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from Egypt’s control. And I saved you from other kingdoms that were troubling you.’ ¹⁹ But now you have rejected your God. He saves you from all your troubles and problems. But you said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ Now come, stand before the Lord in your tribes and family groups.”

²⁰ Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near. And the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ Samuel had them pass by in family groups, and Matri’s family was chosen. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by. And Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for Saul, they could not find him. ²² Then they asked the Lord, “Has Saul come here yet?”

The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding behind the baggage.”

²³ So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was a head taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. There is no one like him among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained the rights and duties of the king. He wrote the rules in a book and put the book before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him. ²⁷ But some troublemakers said, “How can this man save us?” They hated Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept quiet.