1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that Jehovah hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance?2 When thou art departed from me to-day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found; and, lo, thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:4 and they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread, which thou shalt receive of their hand.5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying:6 and the Spirit of Jehovah will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion shall serve thee; for God is with thee.8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come unto thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.

9 And it was so, that, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them.11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?12 And one of the same place answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 And Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.15 And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But concerning the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17 And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah to Mizpah;18 and he said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel 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 ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes, and by your thousands.20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.21 And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found.22 Therefore they asked of Jehovah further, Is there yet a man to come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.23 And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him along all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, Long live the king.

25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Jehovah. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.26 And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the host, whose hearts God had touched.27 But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

1 SAMUEL 10

1 Samuel took a small jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. Then he kissedt Saul and told him:
The [Lord] has chosen you to be the leader and ruler of his people.t

2 When you leave me today, you'll meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They'll tell you, “The donkeys you've been looking for have been found. Your father has forgotten about them, and now he's worrying about you! He's wondering how he can find you.”
3 Go on from there until you reach the big oak tree at Tabor, where you'll meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats, another will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and the last one will be carrying a clay jar of wine.

4 After they greet you, they'll give you two loaves of bread.

5 Next, go to Gibeah, t where the Philistines have an army camp. As you're going into the town, you'll meet a group of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They'll be going along prophesying while others are walking in front of them, playing small harps, small drums, and flutes.
6 The Spirit of the [Lord] will suddenly take control of you.t You'll become a different person and start prophesying right along with them.

7 After these things happen, do whatever you think is right! God will help you.

8 Then go to Gilgal. I'll come a little later, so wait for me. It may even take a week for me to get there, but when I come, I'll offer sacrifices to please the [Lord] and to ask for his blessings. I'll also tell you what to do next.

Saul Goes Back Home

10 When Saul arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. The Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, t and right there in the middle of the group he began prophesying.

11 Some people who had known Saul for a long time saw that he was speaking and behaving like a prophet. They said to each other, “What's happened? How can Saul be a prophet?”

12  t “Why not?” one of them answered. “Saul has as much right to be a prophet as anyone else!”t That's why everyone started saying, “How can Saul be a prophet?”

13 After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the place of worship.

14 Later, Saul's uncle asked him, “Where have you been?”
Saul answered, “Looking for the donkeys. We couldn't find them, so we went to talk with Samuel.”

15 “And what did he tell you?” Saul's uncle asked.

16 Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had been found.” But Saul didn't mention that Samuel had chosen him to be king.

The [Lord] Shows Israel //that Saul Will Be King

18 When everyone had arrived, Samuel said:
The [Lord] God of Israel told me to remind you that he had rescued you from the Egyptians and from the other nations that abused you.

19 God has rescued you from your troubles and hard times. But you have rejected your God and have asked for a king. Now each tribe and clan must come near the place of worship so the [Lord] can choose a king.
20 Samuel brought each tribe, one after the other, to the altar, and the [Lord] chose the Benjamin tribe.

21 Next, Samuel brought each clan of Benjamin there, and the [Lord] chose the Matri clan. Finally, Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

22 The people prayed, “Our [Lord], is Saul here?”
“Yes,” the [Lord] answered, “he is hiding behind the baggage.”
23 The people ran and got Saul and brought him into the middle of the crowd. He was more than a head taller than anyone else.

24 “Look closely at the man the [Lord] has chosen!” Samuel told the crowd. “There is no one like him!”
The crowd shouted, “Long live the king!”

25 Samuel explained the rights and duties of a king and wrote them all in a book. He put the book in one of the shrines where the [Lord] was worshiped. Then Samuel sent everyone home.
26 God had encouraged some young men to become followers of Saul, and when he returned to his hometown of Gibeah, they went with him. 27 But some worthless fools said, “How can someone like Saul rescue us from our enemies?” They did not want Saul to be their king, and so they didn't bring him any gifts. But Saul kept calm.