1 Samuel 10

1Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

2When 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 the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?footnote a

3Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee 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:

4And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.footnote b

5After 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 company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:

6And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.

7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.footnote cfootnote d

8And 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 to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

9And 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.footnote efootnote f

10And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

11And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among 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?footnote g

12And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?footnote h

13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

14And 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 no where, we came to Samuel.

15And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

16And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;

18And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:

19And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.

22Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

23And 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.

24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.footnote i

25Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, 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.

26And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.

27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.footnote j

Samuel Anoints Saul

1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?footnote a 2When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’

3Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oakfootnote b of Tabor. Three men going up 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. 4They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hands.

5After that you will come to Gibeah of God,footnote c where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

6Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.

7When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you. 8And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”

Samuel’s Signs Fulfilled

9As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all the signs came to pass that day. 10When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah,footnote d a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.

11When all those who had formerly known Saul saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

12Then a man who lived there replied, “And who is their father?” So the saying became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

13And when Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place.

14Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?”
“To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”

15“Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”

16And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

Saul Proclaimed King

17After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah 18and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’

19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”

20Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. 21Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected.footnote e Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him. 22So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”

23So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others. 24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

25Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.

26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.

27But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.footnote f