[1] Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed
him and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince over his people
Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save
them from the hand of their enemies round about. And this shall be the sign
to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. [2]
When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the
territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, `The asses which
you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about
the asses and is anxious about you, saying, "What shall I do about my
son?"' [3] Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of
Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one
carrying three kids, 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 accept from their hand. [5] After that you
shall come to Gib'e-ath-elo'him, where there is a garrison of the
Philistines; and there, as you come to the city, you will meet a band of
prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and
lyre before them, prophesying. [6] Then the spirit of the LORD will come
mightily upon you, and you shall prophesy with them and be turned into
another man. [7] Now when these signs meet you, do whatever your hand finds
to do, for God is with you. [8] And you shall go down before me to Gilgal;
and behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice
peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show
you what you shall do." [9] When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God
gave him another heart; and all these signs came to pass that day. [10]
When they came to Gib'e-ah, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the
spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them. [11]
And when all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets,
the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is
Saul also among the prophets?" [12] And a man of the place answered, "And
who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among
the prophets?" [13] When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high
place. [14] Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, "Where did you
go?" And he said, "To seek the asses; and when we saw they were not to be
found, we went to Samuel." [15] And Saul's uncle said, "Pray, tell me what
Samuel said to you." [16] And Saul said to his uncle, "He told us plainly
that the asses had been found." But about the matter of the kingdom, of
which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything. [17] Now Samuel
called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah; [18] and he said to the
people of Israel, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, `I brought up
Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and
from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.' [19] But you
have this day rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and
your distresses; and you have said, `No! but set a king over us.' Now
therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your
thousands." [20] Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the
tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. [21] He brought the tribe of Benjamin
near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot;
finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the
son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be
found. [22] So they inquired again of the LORD, "Did the man come hither?"
and the LORD said, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage." [23]
Then they ran and fetched 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? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people
shouted, "Long live the king!" [25] Then Samuel told the people the rights
and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up
before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his
home. [26] Saul also went to his home at Gib'e-ah, and with him went men of
valor whose hearts God had touched. [27] But some worthless fellows said,
"How can this man save us?" And they despised him, and brought him no
present. But he held his peace.
