1 Samuel 10

1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul's head, and kissed him, saying, “The Lord has anointed you as ruler of his chosen people.

Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on his head and gave him a kiss and said, Is not the Lord with the holy oil making you ruler over Israel, his people? and you will have authority over the people of the Lord, and you will make them safe from the hands of their attackers round about them, and this will be the sign for you:

2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb in Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father isn't concerned about them but is worried about you. He's wondering, ‘What about my son?’

When you have gone away from me today, you will see two men by the resting-place of Rachel's body, in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The asses which you went in search of have come back, and now your father, caring no longer for the asses, is troubled about you, saying, What am I to do about my son?

3 You will leave there and go on to the oak at Tabor where you will meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine.

Then you are to go on from there, and when you come to the oak-tree of Tabor, you will see three men going up to God to Beth-el, one having with him three young goats and another three cakes of bread and another a skin full of wine:

4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you should take.

They will say, Peace be with you, and will give you two cakes of bread, which you are to take from them.

5 Next you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have a garrison. As you come into town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place led by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.

After that you will come to Gibeah, the hill of God, where an armed force of the Philistines is stationed: and when you come to the town, you will see a band of prophets coming down from the high place with instruments of music before them; and they will be acting like prophets:

6 The Spirit of the Lord will come on you with power. You will prophesy with them, and you will become a different man.

And the spirit of the Lord will come on you with power, and you will be acting like a prophet with them, and will be changed into another man.

7 After these signs have happened, do what you need to do, for God is with you.

And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; for God is with you.

8 Then go ahead of me to Gilgal. I assure you I will come and join you to present burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Wait there seven days until I come to you, and let you know what you should do.”

Then you are to go down before me to Gilgal, where I will come to you, for the offering of burned offerings and peace-offerings: go on waiting there for seven days till I come to you and make clear to you what you have to do.

9 The moment Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave Saul a different way of thinking, and all the signs were fulfilled that day.

And it came about, that when he went away from Samuel, God gave him a changed heart: and all those signs took place that day.

10 When Saul and his servant arrived in Gibeah, there was a procession of prophets coming out to meet them, the Spirit of God came on Saul with power, and he also started to prophesy with them.

And when they came to Gibeah, a band of prophets came face to face with him; and the spirit of God came on him with power and he took his place among them as a prophet.

11 Everyone who had used to know Saul and saw him prophesying with the prophets said to each other, “What's going on with the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets too?”

Now when Saul's old friends saw him among the band of prophets, the people said to one another, What has come to Saul, the son of Kish? Is even Saul among the prophets?

12 A man living there responded, “But who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”

And one of the people of that place said in answer, And who is their father? So it became a common saying, Is even Saul among the prophets?

13 After Saul had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

Then going away from the prophets, he came to the house.

14 Saul's uncle asked Saul and his servant, “Where have you been?” “We were looking for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we couldn't find them we went to Samuel.”

And Saul's father's brother said to him and his servant, Where have you been? And he said, Searching for the asses: and when we saw no sign of them, we came to Samuel.

15 “Please tell me what he said to you,” Saul's uncle asked.

Then he said, And what did Samuel say to you?

16 “He promised us the donkeys had been found,” Saul replied. But Saul didn't tell his uncle what Samuel had said about him becoming king.

And Saul, answering him, said, He gave us word that the asses had come back. But he said nothing to him of Samuel's words about the kingdom.

17 Samuel called the people of Israel to come before the Lord at Mizpah.

Then Samuel sent for the people to come together before the Lord at Mizpah;

18 He told the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I led Israel out of Egypt, and I saved you from the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.

And he said to the children of Israel, The Lord, the God of Israel, has said, I took Israel out of Egypt, and made you free from the hands of the Egyptians and from all the kingdoms which kept you down:

19 But now you have rejected your God, the one who saves you from all your troubles and disasters. You told him, ‘You must appoint a king to rule us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and family groups.”

But today you are turned away from your God, who himself has been your saviour from all your troubles and sorrows; and you have said to him, Put a king over us. So now, take your places before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.

20 Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.

So Samuel made all the tribes of Israel come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

21 Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its family groups, and the family group of Matri was chosen. Lastly, Saul, son of Kish, was chosen. But when they looked for him, he couldn't be found.

Then he made the tribe of Benjamin come near by families, and the family of the Matrites was taken: and from them, Saul, the son of Kish, was taken: but when they went in search of him he was nowhere to be seen.

22 So they asked the Lord, “Has he arrived here yet?” The Lord replied, “Go and look—he's hiding among the baggage.”

So they put another question to the Lord, Is the man present here? And the answer of the Lord was, He is keeping himself from view among the goods.

23 They ran and brought Saul over. When he stood among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else.

So they went quickly and made him come out; and when he took his place among the people, he was taller by a head than any of the people.

24 Samuel said to everyone, “Can you see the one the Lord has chosen? There's no one like him anywhere!” All the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see the man of the Lord's selection, how there is no other like him among all the people? And all the people with loud cries said, Long life to the king!

25 Then Samuel explained to the people all that a king would do. He wrote it down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent everyone home.

Then Samuel gave the people the laws of the kingdom, writing them in a book which he put in a safe place before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

26 Saul also returned to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by warriors who God had encouraged to help him.

And Saul went to Gibeah, to his house; and with him went the men of war whose hearts had been touched by God.

27 But some obnoxious men asked, “How could this man save us?” They hated him and didn't bring him any gifts; but Saul did not retaliate.

But certain good-for-nothing persons said, How is this man to be our saviour? And having no respect for him, they gave him no offering.