1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance?2 When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachels tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, What shall I do about my son?3 Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, 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 receive from their hands.5 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.7 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.9 So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day.10 When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.11 And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?12 Then a man from there answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?13 And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.14 Then Sauls uncle said to him and his servant, Where did you go? So he said, To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.15 And Sauls uncle said, Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you.16 So Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said.

Saul Proclaimed King

17 Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah,18 and said to the children of Israel, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.19 But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, No, set a king over us! Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.22 Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, Has the man come here yet? And the Lord answered, There he is, hidden among the equipment.23 So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.24 And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people? So all the people shouted and said, Long live the king!25 Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched.27 But some rebels said, How can this man save us? So they despised him, and brought him no presents. 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.