Saul Meets Samuel

¹There was a wealthy and influential man named Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin; he was the son of Abiel and grandson of Zeror, and belonged to the family of Becorath, a part of the clan of Aphiah.

²He had a son named Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Saul was a foot taller than anyone else in Israel and more handsome as well.

³Some donkeys belonging to Kish had wandered off, so he said to Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.”

⁴They went through the hill country of Ephraim and the region of Shalishah, but did not find them; so they went on through the region of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then they went through the territory of Benjamin, but still did not find them.

⁵When they came into the region of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Let's go back home, or my father might stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”

⁶The servant answered, “Wait! In this town there is a holy man who is highly respected because everything he says comes true. Let's go to him, and maybe he can tell us where we can find the donkeys.”

⁷“If we go to him, what can we give him?” Saul asked. “There is no food left in our packs, and we don't have a thing to give him, do we?”

⁸The servant answered, “I have a small silver coin. I can give him that, and then he will tell us where we can find them.”

^9-11Saul replied, “A good idea! Let's go.” So they went to the town where the holy man lived. As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women who were coming out to draw water. They asked these women, “Is the seer in town?” (At that time a prophet was called a seer, and so whenever someone wanted to ask God a question, he would say, “Let's go to the seer.”)

^12-13“Yes, he is,” the young women answered. “In fact, he is just ahead of you. If you hurry, you will catch up with him. As soon as you go into town, you will find him. He arrived in town today because the people are going to offer a sacrifice on the altar on the hill. The people who are invited won't start eating until he gets there, because he has to bless the sacrifice first. If you go now, you will find him before he goes up the hill to eat.”

¹⁴So Saul and his servant went on to the town, and as they were going in, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way to the place of worship.

¹⁵Now on the previous day the Lord had told Samuel,

¹⁶“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the tribe of Benjamin; anoint him as ruler of my people Israel, and he will rescue them from the Philistines. I have seen the suffering of my people and have heard their cries for help.”

¹⁷When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I told you about. He will rule my people.”

¹⁸Then Saul went over to Samuel, who was near the gate, and asked, “Tell me, where does the seer live?”

¹⁹Samuel answered, “I am the seer. Go on ahead of me to the place of worship. Both of you are to eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I will answer all your questions and send you on your way.

²⁰As for the donkeys that were lost three days ago, don't worry about them; they have already been found. But who is it that the people of Israel want so much? It is you—you and your father's family.”

²¹Saul answered, “I belong to the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important one in the tribe. Why, then, do you talk like this to me?”

²²Then Samuel led Saul and his servant into the large room and gave them a place at the head of the table where the guests, about thirty in all, were seated.

²³Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the piece of meat I gave you, which I told you to set aside.”

²⁴So the cook brought the choice piece of the leg and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, “Look, here is the piece that was kept for you. Eat it. I saved it for you to eat at this time with the people I invited.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵When they went down from the place of worship to the town, they fixed up a bed for Saul on the roof,

Samuel Anoints Saul as Ruler

²⁶and he slept there. At dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up, and I will send you on your way.” Saul got up, and he and Samuel went out to the street together.

²⁷When they arrived at the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” The servant left, and Samuel continued, “Stay here a minute, and I will tell you what God has said.”

¹Then Samuel took a jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord anoints you as ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and protect them from all their enemies. And this is the proof to you that the Lord has chosen you to be the ruler of his people:

²When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you were looking for have been found, so that your father isn't worried any more about them but about you, and he keeps asking, ‘What shall I do about my son?’

³You will go on from there until you come to the sacred tree at Tabor, where you will meet three men on their way to offer a sacrifice to God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats, another one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and the third one will have a leather bag full of wine.

⁴They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.

⁵Then you will go to the Hill of God in Gibeah, where there is a Philistine camp. At the entrance to the town you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the altar on the hill, playing harps, drums, flutes, and lyres. They will be dancing and shouting.

⁶Suddenly the spirit of the Lord will take control of you, and you will join in their religious dancing and shouting and will become a different person.

⁷When these things happen, do whatever God leads you to do.

⁸You will go ahead of me to Gilgal, where I will meet you and offer burnt sacrifices and fellowship sacrifices. Wait there seven days until I come and tell you what to do.”

⁹When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God gave Saul a new nature. And everything Samuel had told him happened that day.

¹⁰When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Suddenly the spirit of God took control of him, and he joined in their ecstatic dancing and shouting.

¹¹People who had known him before saw him doing this and asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Has Saul become a prophet?”

¹²A man who lived there asked, “How about these other prophets—who do you think their fathers are?” This is how the saying originated, “Has even Saul become a prophet?”

¹³When Saul finished his ecstatic dancing and shouting, he went to the altar on the hill.

¹⁴Saul's uncle saw him and the servant, and he asked them, “Where have you been?” “Looking for the donkeys,” Saul answered. “When we couldn't find them, we went to see Samuel.”

¹⁵“And what did he tell you?” Saul's uncle asked.

¹⁶“He told us that the animals had been found,” Saul answered—but he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about his becoming king.

Saul Is Acclaimed as King

¹⁷Samuel called the people together for a religious gathering at Mizpah

¹⁸and said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I brought you out of Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and all the other peoples who were oppressing you.

¹⁹I am your God, the one who rescues you from all your troubles and difficulties, but today you have rejected me and have asked me to give you a king. Very well, then, gather yourselves before the Lord by tribes and by clans.’”

²⁰Then Samuel had each tribe come forward, and the Lord picked the tribe of Benjamin.

²¹Then Samuel had the families of the tribe of Benjamin come forward, and the family of Matri was picked out. Then the men of the family of Matri came forward, and Saul son of Kish was picked out. They looked for him, but when they could not find him,

²²they asked the Lord, “Is there still someone else?” The Lord answered, “Saul is over there, hiding behind the supplies.”

²³So they ran and brought Saul out to the people, and they could see that he was a foot taller than anyone else.

²⁴Samuel said to the people, “Here is the man the Lord has chosen! There is no one else among us like him.” All the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of a king, and then wrote them in a book, which he deposited in a holy place. Then he sent everyone home.

²⁶Saul also went back home to Gibeah. Some powerful men, whose hearts God had touched, went with him.

²⁷But some worthless people said, “How can this fellow do us any good?” They despised Saul and did not bring him any gifts.

True Worship

¹The Almighty God, the Lord, speaks; he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

²God shines from Zion, the city perfect in its beauty.

³Our God is coming, but not in silence; a raging fire is in front of him, a furious storm around him.

⁴He calls heaven and earth as witnesses to see him judge his people.

⁵He says, “Gather my faithful people to me, those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice.”

⁶The heavens proclaim that God is righteous, that he himself is judge.

⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel. I am God, your God.

⁸I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

⁹And yet I do not need bulls from your farms or goats from your flocks;

¹⁰all the animals in the forest are mine and the cattle on thousands of hills.

¹¹All the wild birds are mine and all living things in the fields.

¹²“If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food, for the world and everything in it is mine.

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God, and give the Almighty all that you promised.

¹⁵Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me.”

¹⁶But God says to the wicked, “Why should you recite my commandments? Why should you talk about my covenant?

¹⁷You refuse to let me correct you; you reject my commands.

¹⁸You become the friend of every thief you see, and you associate with adulterers.

¹⁹“You are always ready to speak evil; you never hesitate to tell lies.

²⁰You are ready to accuse your own relatives and to find fault with them.

²¹You have done all this, and I have said nothing, so you thought that I am like you. But now I reprimand you and make the matter plain to you.

²²“Listen to this, you that ignore me, or I will destroy you, and there will be no one to save you.

²³Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honors me, and I will surely save all who obey me.”