Samuel Appoints Saul

10 Samuel took a ·jar [flask; vial] of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “The Lord has ·appointed [anointed] you ·to lead [ruler; prince over] his ·people^[a] [special possession; inheritance]. ² After you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah [Gen. 35:19]. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you were looking for have been found. But now your father has stopped thinking about his donkeys and is ·worrying [anxious] about you. He is asking, “What will I do about my son?” ’

³ “Then you will go on until you reach the ·big [^Loak] tree at Tabor. Three men ·on their way to worship [^Lgoing up to] God at Bethel will meet you there. One man will be carrying three ·goats [kids]. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. And the third will have a ·leather bag [skin] full of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you must accept. ⁵ Then you will go to ·Gibeah [or the hill] of God, where a Philistine ·camp [garrison] is. When you approach this town, a group of prophets will come down from the ·place of worship [high place]. They will be playing harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will ·rush upon [come on; seize; possess] you with power. You will prophesy with them, and you will be changed into a different man. ⁷ After these signs happen, do ·whatever you find to do [what must be done; what you see fit to do; ^Lwhat your hand finds to do], because God ·will help [is with] you [^CSaul was supposed to attack the garrison, but he did not do so].

⁸ “Go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come down to you to offer whole burnt offerings [Lev. 1] and to sacrifice ·fellowship [peace; well-being] offerings [Lev. 3:1]. But you must wait seven days. Then I will come and ·tell [show; reveal to] you what to do [^CSaul did not do this either].”

Saul Made King

⁹ When Saul turned to leave Samuel, God ·changed Saul’s [gave Saul a new/another] heart. All these signs ·came true [were fulfilled; occurred] that day. ¹⁰ When they arrived at Gibeah, Saul met a ·group [band; procession] of prophets. The Spirit of God ·rushed upon [overwhelmed; seized; possessed] him, and he prophesied with the prophets. ¹¹ When people who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What has happened to Kish’s son? Is even Saul ·one of [among] the prophets?”

¹² A man who lived there ·said [answered; retorted], “Who is the father of these prophets [^CSaul’s prophesying amazed and confused him]?” So this became a ·famous saying [proverb]: “Is ·even Saul one of [Saul also among] the prophets?” ¹³ When Saul finished prophesying, he ·entered the place of worship [came/went to the high place].

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”

Saul said, “We were looking for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we went to talk to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Saul’s uncle asked, “Please tell me. What did Samuel say to you?”

¹⁶ Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had already been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about ·his becoming king [the kingdom; ^CSaul should have announced publicly that he was king].

¹⁷ Samuel called all the people of Israel ·to meet with [to] the Lord at Mizpah [7:5–11, 15–17]. ¹⁸ He said [^Lto the sons of Israel], “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I ·led [brought up] Israel out of Egypt. I ·saved [rescued; delivered] you from Egypt’s ·control [^Lhand] and from [^Lthe hand of] other kingdoms that were ·troubling [oppressing] you.’ ¹⁹ But ·now [today] you have rejected your God. He ·saves [rescues; delivers] you from all your ·troubles [calamities; disasters; miseries] and ·problems [distresses], but you said, ‘No! ·We want [Appoint; Set] a king to rule over us.’ Now come, ·stand [present yourselves] before the Lord in your tribes and ·family groups [clans].”

²⁰ When Samuel ·gathered [brought forward] ·all [each of] the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. ²¹ Samuel had ·them [the tribe of Benjamin] pass by in ·family groups [clans], and Matri’s family was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by, and Saul son of Kish was ·picked [chosen/taken by lot]. But when they looked for Saul, ·they could not find him [he had disappeared]. ²² They ·asked [inquired further of] the Lord, “Has ·Saul [^Lthe man] come here yet?”

The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding ·behind [among] the baggage.”

²³ So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was ·a head [head and shoulders] taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. ·There is no one like him [He has no equal] among all the people.”

Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained the ·rights and duties [ordinances; customs] of the king and then wrote them ·in a book [on a scroll] and put it before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. ·God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him […accompanied by warriors/valiant men whose hearts God had touched]. ²⁷ But some ·troublemakers [scoundrels; worthless men] said, “How can this man ·save [rescue; deliver] us?” They ·disapproved of [scorned; despised] Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept ·quiet^[b] [silent; held his peace; ignored them].