Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^aKish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of ¹valor. 2 Now he had a son whose name was Saul, a ^achoice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; ^bfrom his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now with you one of the young men, and arise, go search for the donkeys.” 4 Thus he passed through ^athe hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^bShalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^cShaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

5 They came to the land of ^aZuph. And Saul said to his young man who was with him, “Come, and let us return, ^blest my father cease to be concerned about the donkeys and become anxious for us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold now, there is ^aa man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; ^ball that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, ^cperhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have gone.” 7 Then Saul said to his young man, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack, and there is ^ano present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 And the young man answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a ¹shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, and he will ^atell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called ^aa seer.) 10 Then Saul said to his young man, “Your word is good; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11 As they were going up the slope to the city, ^athey found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 And they answered them and said, “He is! Behold, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for ^athe people have a sacrifice on ^bthe high place today. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes because ^ahe must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. So now, go up for you will find him at once.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out to meet them to go up to the high place.

15 Now a day before Saul’s coming, ^aYahweh had revealed this in Samuel’s hearing, saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^ayou shall anoint him to be ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^1bI have regarded My people because their cry has come to Me.” 17 Now Samuel saw Saul, and Yahweh answered him, “^aBehold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall restrict My people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your heart. 20 ^aAs for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your heart on them, for they have been found. And ^bfor whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” 21 And Saul answered and said, “^aAm I not a Benjamite, of ^bthe smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ¹tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak to me in this way?”

22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the chamber and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “¹Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, ‘Set it ²aside.’” 24 Then the cook ^atook up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ¹since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 Then they came down from the high place into the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul ^aon the ¹roof. 26 And they arose early; and at the ¹breaking of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the young man that he might pass before us and pass onwards, but you remain standing now, that I may cause you to hear the word of God.”

There was a man of the tribe of Benjamin whose name was ^aKish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of influence and wealth. 2 Kish had a son named Saul, a ^achoice and handsome man; among the sons of Israel there was not a man more handsome than he. ^bFrom his shoulders and up he was a head taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off and were lost. Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you and arise, go look for the donkeys.” 4 And they passed through ^athe hill country of Ephraim and the land of ^bShalishah, but did not find them. Then they passed through the land of ^cShaalim, but they were not there and the land of the Benjamites, but they still did not find them.

5 When they came to the land of ^aZuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, ^botherwise my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 The servant said to him, “Look here, in this city there is ^aa man of God, and the man is held in honor; ^beverything that he says comes true. Now let us go there; ^cperhaps he can advise us about our journey and tell us where we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go to see him, what shall we bring to the man? For the bread from our sacks is gone and there is ^ano gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have to offer?” 8 The servant replied again to Saul, “Here in my hand I have a quarter of a shekel of silver; I will give that to the man of God, and he will ^aadvise us as to where we should go on our journey to find the donkeys.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say, “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet today was formerly called a ^aseer.) 10 Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was living.

11 As they went up the hill to the city, ^athey met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer (prophet) here?” 12 They answered them, “He is; look, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today because ^athe people have a sacrifice on ^bthe high place today. 13 As you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must ask the ^ablessing on the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. So go up now, for about now you will find him.” 14 So they went up to the city. And as they came into the city, there was Samuel coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

15 Now a day before Saul came, ^athe LORD had ¹informed Samuel of this, saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and ^ayou shall anoint him as leader over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For ^bI have looked upon the distress of My people, because their cry for help has come to Me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “^aThere is the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall rule over My people as their king.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the city gate and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go on ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 ^aAs for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And ^bfor whom are all things that are desirable in Israel? Are they not for you and for all your father’s household (family) ?” 21 Saul replied, “^aAm I not a Benjamite, of ^1bthe smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the smallest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken this way to me as if I were very important?”

22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall at the high place and gave them a place to sit at the head of the persons—about thirty men—who were invited while the rest ate outside. 23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the priests’ portion that I gave you, regarding which I told you, ‘Set it aside.’” 24 Then the cook ^alifted up the leg (thigh) with the meat that was on it indicating that it was the priest’s honored portion and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved for you. Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, ever since I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

25 When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul ^aon the ¹roof of his house. 26 They got up early the next day; and at dawn Samuel called Saul who was sleeping on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside. 27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us so that he may pass by but you stand still now so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”