Then ^aSamuel took the flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, ^bkissed him, and said, “Has ^cthe LORD not anointed you as ruler over ^dHis inheritance (Israel) ? 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men beside ^aRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, ‘^bThe donkeys you went to look for have been found. And your father has stopped caring about them and is worried about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you will go on further from there, and you will come to the ^aterebinth tree of Tabor, and three men going up ^bto sacrifice to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. 5 After that you will come to ^1athe hill of God where the garrison of the Philistines is; and when you come there to the city, you will meet ^ba group of prophets coming down from the high place of worship with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, and ^cthey will be prophesying. 6 Then ^athe Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and ^byou will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into another man. 7 When these signs come to you, ^ado for yourself whatever ¹the situation requires, for ^bGod is with you. 8 ^aYou shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to ^bsacrifice peace offerings. ^cYou shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you must do.”

9 Then it happened when Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God ^achanged his heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 ^aWhen they came to the hill Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came on him mightily, and he prophesied under divine guidance among them. 11 Now when all who knew Saul previously saw that he actually prophesied now by inspiration with the prophets, the people said one to another, “What has happened to Saul, who is nobody but the son of Kish? ^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man from there answered, “But who is the father of the others?” So it became a proverb, “^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When Saul had finished prophesying, he went to the high place of worship.

14 ^aSaul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And Saul said, “^bTo look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel for help.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me, what did Samuel say to you?” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “^aHe told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

17 Then Samuel called the ^apeople together to the LORD at Mizpah, 18 and he said to Israel, “^aThus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘It was I who brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you ^ahave rejected your God, who Himself saves you from all your disasters and distresses; yet you have said, ‘No! Set a king over us.’ Now then, ^bpresent yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your families (clans) .”

20 And when Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 So ^athey inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD answered, “He is there, hiding himself by the ¹provisions and supplies.” Ex 28:30 23 So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, ^ahe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^awhom the LORD has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “^bLong live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people ^athe ¹requirements of the kingdom, and wrote them in a book and ^bplaced it before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went ^ahome to Gibeah; and the ¹brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But some ^1aworthless men said, “How can this man save and rescue us?” And they regarded Saul with contempt and ^bdid not bring him a gift. But he ignored the insult and kept silent.

Then ^aSamuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, ^bkissed him and said, “Has not ^cthe LORD anointed you a ruler over ^dHis inheritance? 2 When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to ^aRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘^bThe donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has ¹ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the ^1aoak of Tabor, and there three men going up ^bto God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; 4 and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. 5 Afterward you will come to ^1athe hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet ^ba group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and ^cthey will be prophesying. 6 Then ^athe Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and ^byou shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. 7 It shall be when these signs come to you, ^ado for yourself what ¹the occasion requires, for ^bGod is with you. 8 And ^ayou shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and ^bsacrifice peace offerings. ^cYou shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”

9 Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God ^achanged ¹his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. 10 ^aWhen they came to ¹the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. 11 It came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? ^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12 A man there said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “^aIs Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 Now ^aSaul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “^bTo look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 So Saul said to his uncle, “^aHe told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.

17 Thereafter Samuel called the ^apeople together to the LORD at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “^aThus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the ¹power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But you ^ahave today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have ¹said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’ Now therefore, ^bpresent yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.”

20 Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore ^athey inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” So the LORD said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.” 23 So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, ^ahe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^awhom the LORD has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “^1bLong live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people ^athe ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and ^bplaced it before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. 26 Saul also went ^ato his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain ^1aworthless men said, “How can this one deliver us?” And they despised him and ^bdid not bring him any present. But he kept silent.