1 Then 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?
2 When thou hast 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 to thee, The donkeys which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath stopped caring for the donkeys, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? care: Heb. business
3 Then shalt thou go on forward from there, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:
4 And they will greet thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive from their hands. salute…: Heb. ask thee of peace
5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou hast come there 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:
6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
7 And let it be, when these signs have come to thee, that thou do as occasion shall serve thee; for God is with thee. And…: Heb. And it shall come to pass, that when these signs, etcthat…: Heb. do for thee as thine hand shall find
8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down to thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.
9 And 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. back: Heb. shouldergave: Heb. turned
10 And when they came there to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him in times past saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that hath come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? one…: Heb. a man to his neighbour
12 And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? of…: Heb. from thence
13 And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 And Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, Where went ye? And he said, To seek the donkeys: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.
15 And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you.
16 And Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he told him not.
17 And Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpeh;
18 And said to the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought 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:
19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said to him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.
20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
21 When 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.
22 Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come there. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage.
23 And 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 and upward.
24 And 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. God…: Heb. Let the king live
25 Then 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.
26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
27 But the worthless men said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. held…: or, was as though he had been deaf