1 Samuel 8–15

8TH CHAPTER

Israel Rejects the Lord as King

¹When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. ²The name of his firstborn son was Joel; the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³The sons didn’t follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice. 

⁴Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.” 

⁶But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord. ⁷The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. ⁸They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. ⁹Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.” 

¹⁰Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything the Lord had said. ¹¹Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king: 

He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots. 

¹²He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots. 

¹³He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake. 

¹⁴He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials. 

¹⁵He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials. 

¹⁶He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle,^aand your donkeys for his own use. 

¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks. 

In addition, you will be his servants. 

¹⁸“When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. The Lord will not answer you when that day comes.” 

¹⁹But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! ²⁰Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out ⸤to war⸥, and fight our battles.” 

²¹When Samuel heard everything the people had to say, he reported it privately to the Lord. ²²The Lord told him, “Listen to them, and give them a king.” 

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go ⸤back⸥ to your own cities.” 

9TH CHAPTER

Saul Searches for His Father’s Donkeys

¹There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was a son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, and great-grandson of Becorath, whose father was Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a powerful man. ²He had a son named Saul, a handsome, young man. No man in Israel was more handsome than Saul. He stood a head taller than everyone else. 

³When some donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, Kish told Saul, “Take one of the servants with you, and go look for the donkeys.” 

⁴They went through the mountains of Ephraim and the region of Shalisha without finding the donkeys. Then Saul and his servant went through the region of Shaalim, but the donkeys weren’t there. The men went through the territory of Benjamin but ⸤still⸥ didn’t find them. ⁵When they came to the territory of Zuph, Saul told his servant who was with him, “Let’s go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and worry about us ⸤instead⸥.” 

Saul Seeks Samuel’s Advice

⁶The servant responded, “There’s a man of God in this city, a highly respected man. Everything he says is sure to happen. Let’s go there. Maybe he’ll tell us which way we should go.” 

⁷“If we go,” Saul asked his servant, “what could we bring the man since the food in our sacks is gone? There’s no present we can bring the man of God. What do we have?” 

⁸The servant again answered Saul, “Look, here! I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. I’ll give it to the man of God. Then he’ll tell us where to find the donkeys.” 

⁹(Formerly in Israel, when a person went to ask God ⸤a question⸥, he would say, “Come, let’s go to the seer,” because a person we now call a prophet used to be called a seer.) 

¹⁰Saul told his servant, “That’s a good idea! Come on, let’s go.” They went to the city where the man of God was. 

¹¹As they were going up the hill to the city, they met girls coming out to get water. They asked the girls, “Is the seer here?” 

¹²The girls answered, “He’s there ahead of you. Hurry! He ⸤just⸥ went into the city today since the people are offering a sacrifice on the worship site. ¹³As you go into the city, you can find him before he goes to the worship site to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, since he blesses the sacrifice. Then those who are invited may eat. Go. You should be able to find him now.” 

¹⁴So Saul and his servant went to the city. As they entered it, Samuel was coming toward them on his way to the worship site. ¹⁵Now, the Lord had revealed the following message to Samuel one day before Saul came: ¹⁶“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the territory of Benjamin. Anoint him to be ruler of my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines because I’ve seen my people’s ⸤suffering⸥ and their cry has come to me.” ¹⁷When Samuel noticed Saul, the Lord told him, “There’s the man I told you about. This man will govern my people.” 

¹⁸Saul approached Samuel inside the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 

¹⁹Samuel replied, “I’m the seer. Go ahead of me to the worship site. You will eat with me today. In the morning I’ll let you go after I tell you all that’s on your mind. ²⁰Don’t trouble yourself about the donkeys that were lost three days ago because they’ve been found. Who will have all that is desirable in Israel? Won’t it be you and your father’s family?” 

²¹Saul replied, “I am a man from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe of Israel. My family is the most insignificant of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. So why are you saying such things to me?” 

²²Samuel brought Saul and his servant to the banquet hall and had them sit at the head of the guests—about 30 people. ²³Samuel said to the cook, “Bring me the portion of the sacrificial meat that I gave you and told you to put aside.” ²⁴So the cook picked up the leg and thighand laid it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “This was kept in order to be laid in front of you. Eat it. When I invited people to the feast, I set it aside for you.”Saul ate with Samuel that day. 

²⁵Then they left the worship site for the city. They spread blankets on the roof for Saul, and he slept there.^c

²⁶At dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up! ⸤It’s time for⸥ me to send you away.” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside. ²⁷As they were going toward the city limits, Samuel told Saul, “Have the servant go ahead of you.” (He went ahead.) “But you stay here, and I will tell you God’s word.” 

10TH CHAPTER

Saul Anointed by Samuel

¹Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that the Lord has anointed you^ato be ruler of his people. ²When you leave me today, two men will be at Rachel’s grave on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ve found the donkeys you went looking for. Your father no longer cares about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He keeps asking, “What can I do ⸤to find⸥ my son?” ’ ³Keep going until you come to the oak tree at Tabor. There you will find three men on their way to worship God at Bethel: One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a ⸤full⸥ wineskin. ⁴They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you should accept from them. ⁵After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines have a military post. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets prophesying as they come from the worship site. They will be led by men playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. ⁶Then the Lord’s Spirit will come over you. You will be a different person while you prophesy with them. ⁷When these signs happen to you, do what you must, because God is with you. ⁸Go ahead of me to Gilgal. Then I will come to sacrifice burnt offerings and make fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to tell you what to do.” 

Saul’s Anointing Confirmed by Signs

⁹When Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s attitude. That day all these signs happened. ¹⁰When Saul came to the hill, a group of prophets came to meet him, and God’s Spirit came over him. He prophesied with them. ¹¹When all who had known him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets?” ¹²But a man from that place asked, “But who’s the chief prophet?” So it became a proverb: “Is Saul one of the prophets?” ¹³And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the worship site. 

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

Saul answered, “To look for the donkeys, and when we couldn’t find them, we went to Samuel.” 

¹⁵Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 

¹⁶“He assured us the donkeys had been found,” Saul answered his uncle. But Saul didn’t tell him what Samuel said ⸤about his becoming king⸥. 

The Lord Chooses Saul

¹⁷Samuel called the people to ⸤come into the presence of⸥ the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I brought Israel out of Egypt and rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kings who were oppressing you. ¹⁹But now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and distresses. You said, ‘No! Place a king over us.’ Now then, stand in front of the Lord by your tribes…