1 Samuel 10–12

10Samuel took the flask of oil, ^mpoured it out on Saul’s head, ⁿkissed him, and said, “Hasn’t the Lord anointed you ^oruler over His inheritance? ^pq2Today when you leave me, you’ll find two men at Rachel’s Grave ^rat Zelzah in the land of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found, ^sand now your father has stopped being concerned about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What should I do about my son?’

³“You will proceed from there until you come to the oak of Tabor. ^tThree men going up to God at Bethel ^uwill meet you there, one bringing three goats, one bringing three loaves of bread, and one bringing a skin of wine. ⁴They will ask how you are and give you two loaves ^vof bread, which you will accept from them.

⁵“After that you will come to the Hill of God ^wxwhere there are Philistine garrisons. ^yWhen you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets ^zcoming down from the high place prophesying. ^aThey will be preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres. ⁶The Spirit of the Lord will control you, ^byou will prophesy with them, ^cand you will be transformed into a different person. ^d7When these signs have happened to you, do whatever your circumstances require ^efbecause God is with you. ⁸Afterward, go ahead of me to Gilgal. I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what to do.”

⁹When Saul turned around ^gto leave Samuel, God changed his heart, ^hand all the signs came about that day. ¹⁰When Saul and his attendant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God took control of him, and he prophesied along with them.

¹¹Everyone who knew him previously and saw him prophesy with the prophets asked each other, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” ⁱ

¹²Then a man who was from there asked, “And who is their father?” ^j

As a result, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” became a popular saying. ¹³Then Saul finished prophesying and went to the high place.

¹⁴Saul’s uncle ^kasked him and his attendant, “Where did you go?”

“To look for the donkeys,” Saul answered. “When we saw they weren’t there, we went to Samuel.” ^l

¹⁵“Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”

¹⁶Saul told him, “He assured us the donkeys had been found.” However, Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship.

Saul Received as King

¹⁷Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah ^m18and said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ⁿ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹But today you have rejected your God, ^owho saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to Him, ‘You ^pmust set a king over us.’ ^qNow therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.” ^r

²⁰Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. ²¹Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the Matrite clan was selected. ^sFinally, Saul son of Kish was selected. ^tBut when they searched for him, they could not find him. ²²They again inquired of the Lord, ^u“Has the man come here yet?”

The Lord replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.”

²³They ran and got him from there. When he stood among the people, he stood a head taller than anyone else. ^vw24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? ^xThere is no one like him among the entire population.”

And all the people shouted, ^y“Long live the king!” ^z

²⁵Samuel proclaimed to the people the rights of kingship. ^aHe wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the Lord. ^bThen Samuel sent all the people away, each to his home.

²⁶Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, ^cand brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷But some wicked men said, “How can this guy save us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift, ^dbut Saul said nothing. ^ef

Saul’s Deliverance of Jabesh-gilead

11Nahash ^ghthe Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. ⁱAll the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty ^jwith us, and we will serve you.”

²Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye ^kand humiliate all Israel.” ^l

³“Don’t do anything to us for seven days,” the elders of Jabesh said to him, “and let us send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one saves us, we will surrender to you.”

⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah, ^mSaul’s hometown, and told the terms to ⁿthe people, all wept aloud. ^o5Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind his oxen. “What’s the matter with the people? Why are they weeping?” Saul inquired, and they repeated to him the words of the men from Jabesh.

⁶When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, ^pand his anger burned furiously. ⁷He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces, ^qand sent them throughout the land of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.” ^rAs a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united. ^s

⁸Saul counted them at Bezek. ^tThere were 300,000 ^uvIsraelites and 30,000 ^wmen from Judah. ⁹He told the messengers who had come, “Tell this to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’ ” So the messengers told the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.

¹⁰Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do whatever you want ^xto us.”

¹¹The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions. ^yDuring the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

Saul’s Confirmation as King

¹²Afterward, the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not ^zreign over us? ^aGive us those men so we can kill them!” ^b

¹³But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.” ^c

¹⁴Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal, so we can renew the kingship there.” ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence ^dthey made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings ^ein the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel greatly rejoiced.

Samuel’s Final Public Speech

12Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you. ^f2Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until today. ³Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? ^gWhom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something? ^hijI will return it to you.”

⁴“You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone’s hand,” they responded.

⁵He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything ^kin my hand.” ^l

“He is a witness,” they said.

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron ^mand who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness. ⁿ⁷Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts He has done for you and your ancestors.

⁸“When Jacob went to Egypt, ^oyour ancestors cried out to the Lord, ^pand He sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ^q9But they forgot the Lord their God, so He handed them over to Sisera ^rcommander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. ^sThese enemies fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the power of our enemies, ^tand we will serve You.’ ¹¹So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, ^uBarak, ^vwJephthah, ^xand Samuel. ^yHe rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. ¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king rule over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.

¹³“Now here is the king you’ve chosen, ^zthe one you requested. ^aLook, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. ¹⁴If you fear the Lord, ^bworship and obey Him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who rules over you will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵However, if you disobey the Lord ^cand rebel against His command, the Lord’s hand will be against you ^dand against your ancestors. ^ef

¹⁶“Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. ^g17Isn’t the wheat harvest today? ^hI will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.” ⁱ¹⁸Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. ^j

¹⁹They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, ^kso we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.” ^l

²⁰Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. ^mInstead, worship the Lord with all your heart. ²¹Don’t turn away to follow worthless ⁿthings that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless. ^o22The Lord will not abandon His people, ^pbecause of His great name and because He has determined to make…