¹⁷ Samuel called the people together to Yahweh to Mizpah; ¹⁸ and he said to the children of Israel, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ ¹⁹ But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes and by your thousands.”

²⁰ So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, “Is there yet a man to come here?”

Yahweh answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

²³ They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?”

All the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. ²⁶ Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷ But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no tribute. But he held his peace.