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
?
"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
?"'
"Then you will go on further
from there
, and you will come
as far
as the 1 aoak
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
;
and they will greet you and give
you two
loaves of bread
, which you will accept
from their hand
.
"Afterward you will come
to 1 athe 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
.
"Then athe Spirit of the LORD
will come
upon you mightily
, and byou shall prophesy
with them and be changed
into another
man
.
"It shall be when these
signs
come
to you, ado
for yourself what
1the occasion
requires
, for bGod
is with you.
"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
."
Then it happened when he turned
his back
to leave
Samuel
, God
achanged
1his heart
; and all
those
signs
came
about on that day
.
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.
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
?"
A man there
said
, "Now, who
is their father
?" Therefore
it became
a proverb
: " aIs Saul
also
among the prophets
?"
When he had finished prophesying
, he came
to the high
place
.
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
."
Saul's uncle
said
, "Please
tell
me what
Samuel
said
to you."
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
.
Thereafter Samuel called
the apeople
together
to the LORD
at Mizpah
;
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.'
"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
."
Thus Samuel brought
all
the tribes
of Israel
near
, and the tribe
of Benjamin
was taken
by lot.
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
.
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
."
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
.
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
, " 1 bLong live
the king
!"
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
.
Saul also
went
ato his house
at Gibeah
; and the valiant
men whose
hearts
God
had touched
went
with him.
But certain 1 aworthless men
said
, "How
can this
one
deliver
us?" And they despised
him and bdid not bring
him any present
. But he kept
silent
.