1 Samuel 10
1THEN Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said to him, Hath not the Lord anointed thee to be ruler over his people Israel? Thou therefore shalt rule over the people of the Lord, and save them out of the hand of their enemies. And this shall be to thee the sign that the Lord hath anointed thee to be ruler over his heritage.
2Soon as thou shalt depart from me to-day, thou wilt meet two men at Rachel’s tomb, on mount Benjamin, coming in haste, and they will say to thee, The asses which you went to seek, are found; and behold thy father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxiously concerned for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
3And when thou shalt go thence, and from that place come to the Oaks of Thabor, thou wilt there meet three men going up to God to Baithel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three baskets of bread, and the other carrying a flagon of wine.
4And they will salute thee courteously, and give thee two of the best loaves, which thou shalt receive at their hand.
5And after that thou shalt go to the mount of God, where there is a garrison of the Philistines under Nasib the Philistine. And when you there enter the city, thou wilt meet a choir of prophets coming down from the Bama, with lutes, and tympani, and pipes, and harps before them, and they will be prophesying;
6and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and be changed into another man.
7Now when these signs are come to thee; do thou as the occasion may require; for God is with thee.
8But when thou shalt go down to Galgal, behold I will go down to thee, to offer a burnt offering and peace offerings. Thou shalt wait seven days till I come to thee. And I will let thee know what thou art to do.
9Accordingly, soon as he turned his back to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all the signs came to pass that day.
10And when he went thence to the mount, behold a choir of prophets met him, and a Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them.
11Now they were all acquainted with him heretofore, and when they saw him among the prophets, the people said one to another, What is this which hath happened to the son of Kis? Is Saul also among the prophets?
12And some of them in reply, said, Who is his father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
13And when he had done prophesying, and came to the mount,
14his uncle said to him and his servant, Where have you been travelling? And they said, To seek the asses. And when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.
15Whereupon his uncle said to Saul, Tell me, I pray thee, what did Samuel say to thee?
16And Saul said to his uncle, He told me that the asses were found. But the matter relating to the kingdom he did not tell him.
17Then Samuel summoned all the people before the Lord, to Massepha,
18and said to the children of Israel, Thus hath the Lord the God of Israel spoken, saying, I brought the children of Israel up out of Egypt, and delivered them out of the hand of Pharao, king of Egypt, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms which oppressed you.
19But you have this day rejected God, who is Himself your Saviour, from all your troubles, and your afflictions; and have said, Nay, but thou shalt set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your communities.
20So Samuel presented all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot.
21Then he presented the tribe of Benjamin by communities, and the community of Mattari was chosen by lot. Then they presented the community of Mattari by individuals, and Saul son of Kis, was chosen by lot. And when they sought for him, he could not be found.
22Whereupon Samuel again inquired of the Lord, whether he would come thither. And the Lord said, Behold he is hid among the baggage.
23So one ran and took him thence, and set him in the midst of the people, and he was taller than the people by the shoulders and upwards.
24And Samuel said to all the people, Have you seen him whom the Lord hath chosen for Himself, that there is none like him among you all? And when all the people acknowledged him and said, God save the king;
25then Samuel told the people the prerogative of the king, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed all the people, and they went away, every man to his place.
26And Saul went to his house at Gabaa, and there went with Saul a band of men, whose hearts the Lord had touched.
27But turbulent men said, How can this man save us? And they despised him, and did not bring him gifts.