^{1 Ref} And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, `Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?

^{2 Ref} In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

^{3 Ref} `And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine,

^{4 Ref} and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

^{5 Ref} `Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines `is', and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying;

^{6 Ref} and prospered over thee hath the Spirit of Jehovah, and thou hast prophesied with them, and hast been turned to another man;

^{7 Ref} and it hath been, when these signs come to thee -- do for thyself as thy hand findeth, for God `is' with thee.

^{8 Ref} `And thou hast gone down before me to Gilgal, and lo, I am going down unto thee, to cause to ascend burnt-offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings; seven days thou dost wait till my coming in unto thee, and I have made known to thee that which thou dost do.'

^{9 Ref} And it hath been, at his turning his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turneth to him another heart, and all these signs come on that day,

^{10 Ref} and they come in thither to the height, and lo, a band of prophets -- to meet him, and prosper over him doth the Spirit of God, and he prophesieth in their midst.

^{11 Ref} And it cometh to pass, all his acquaintance heretofore, see, and lo, with prophets he hath prophesied, and the people say one unto another, `What `is' this hath happened to the son of Kish? is Saul also among the prophets?'

^{12 Ref} And a man thence answereth and saith, `And who `is' their father?' therefore it hath been for a simile, `Is Saul also among the prophets?'

¹³ And he ceaseth from prophesying, and cometh in to the high place,

^{14 Ref} and the uncle of Saul saith unto him, and unto his young man, `Whither went ye?' and he saith, `To seek the asses; and we see that they are not, and we come in unto Samuel.'

¹⁵ And the uncle of Saul saith, `Declare, I pray thee, to me, what Samuel said to you?'

^{16 Ref} And Saul saith unto his uncle, `He certainly declared to us that the asses were found;' and of the matter of the kingdom he hath not declared to him that which Samuel said.

^{17 Ref} And Samuel calleth the people unto Jehovah to Mizpeh,

^{18 Ref} and saith unto the sons of Israel, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I have brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms who are oppressing you;

^{19 Ref} and ye to-day have rejected your God, who `is' Himself your saviour out of all your evils and your distresses, and ye say, `Nay, but -- a king thou dost set over us; and now, station yourselves before Jehovah, by your tribes, and by your thousands.'

^{20 Ref} And Samuel bringeth near the whole tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin is captured,

²¹ and he bringeth near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of Matri is captured, and Saul son of Kish is captured, and they seek him, and he hath not been found.

^{22 Ref} And they ask again at Jehovah, `Hath the man yet come hither?' and Jehovah saith, `Lo, he hath been hidden near the vessels.'

^{23 Ref} And they run and bring him thence, and he stationed himself in the midst of the people, and he is higher than any of the people from his shoulder and upward.

^{24 Ref} And Samuel saith unto all the people, `Have ye seen him on whom Jehovah hath fixed, for there is none like him among all the people?' And all the people shout, and say, `Let the king live!'

^{25 Ref} And Samuel speaketh unto the people the right of the kingdom, and writeth in a book, and placeth before Jehovah; and Samuel sendeth all the people away, each to his house.

^{26 Ref} And also Saul hath gone to his house, to Gibeah, and the force go with him whose heart God hath touched;

^{27 Ref} and the sons of worthlessness have said, `What! this one doth save us!' and they despise him, and have not brought to him a present; and he is as one deaf.

^{1 Ref} Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Isn't it that Yahweh has anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?

^{2 Ref} When you are departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachel's tomb, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will tell you, The donkeys which you went to seek are found; and, behold, your father has left off caring for the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

^{3 Ref} Then shall you go on forward from there, and you shall come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet you there 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 Ref} and they will greet you, and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive of their hand.

^{5 Ref} After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall happen, when you are come there to the city, that you shall meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tambourine, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they will be prophesying:

^{6 Ref} and the Spirit of Yahweh will come mightily on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man.

^{7 Ref} Let it be, when these signs are come to you, that you do as occasion shall serve you; for God is with you.

^{8 Ref} You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down to you, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shall you wait, until I come to you, and show you what you shall do.

^{9 Ref} It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs happened that day.

^{10 Ref} When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.

^{11 Ref} It happened, when all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

^{12 Ref} One of the same place answered, Who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹³ When he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

^{14 Ref} Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, Where went you? He said, To seek the donkeys; and when we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.

¹⁵ Saul's uncle said, Tell me, Please, what Samuel said to you.

^{16 Ref} Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys were found. But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn't tell him.

^{17 Ref} Samuel called the people together to Yahweh to Mizpah;

^{18 Ref} and he said to the children of Israel, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you:

^{19 Ref} but you have this day rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, [No], but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes, and by your thousands.

^{20 Ref} So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

²¹ He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found.

^{22 Ref} Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, Is there yet a man to come here? Yahweh answered, Behold, he has hid himself among the baggage.

^{23 Ref} They ran and fetched him there; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

^{24 Ref} Samuel said to all the people, "You see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" All the people shouted, and said, [Long] live the king.

^{25 Ref} Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

^{26 Ref} Saul also went to his house to Gibeah; and there went with him the host, whose hearts God had touched.

^{27 Ref} But certain worthless fellows said, How shall this man save us? They despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

^{1 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} They will say, Peace be with you, and will give you two cakes of bread, which you are to take from them.

^{5 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} And when these signs come to you, see that you take the chance which is offered you; for God is with you.

^{8 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Then going away from the prophets, he came to the house.

^{14 Ref} 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 Then he said, And what did Samuel say to you?

^{16 Ref} 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 Ref} Then Samuel sent for the people to come together before the Lord at Mizpah;

^{18 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} So Samuel made all the tribes of Israel come near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

²¹ 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} 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 Ref} And Saul went to Gibeah, to his house; and with him went the men of war whose hearts had been touched by God.

^{27 Ref} 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.