11 And as they went up †the hill to the city, they found nyoung maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a ||sacrifice of the people to day in othe high place: 13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to othe high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about †this time ye shall find him. 14 And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.

15 pNow the Lord had †told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, 16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and qthou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have rlooked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. 17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord ssaid unto him, tBehold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall †reign over my people. 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer’s house is. 19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. 20 And as for uthine asses that were lost †three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? 21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the wsmallest of the tribes of Israel? and xmy family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou †so to me? 22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the yparlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. 24 And the cook took up zthe shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is ||left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.

25 And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon athe top of the house. 26 And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still †a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.

10 Then aSamuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, band kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over chis inheritance? 2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by dRachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left †the care of the asses, and esorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the fplain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to gBeth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 4 And they will †salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 5 After that thou shalt come to hthe hill of God, where is the igarrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down kfrom the high place with a psaltery, and a ltabret, and a pipe, and a lharp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 6 And mthe Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and nthou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7 †And let it be, when these osigns are come unto thee, †that thou do as occasion serve thee; for pGod is with thee. 8 And thou shalt go down before me qto Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: rseven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

9 And it was so, that when he had turned his †back to go from Samuel, God †gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 And swhen they came thither to the hill, behold, ta company of prophets met him; and uthe Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said †one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? vIs Saul also among the prophets? 12 And one †of the same place answered and said, But wwho is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, vIs Saul also among the prophets? 13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 14 And xSaul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. 15 And Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. 16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that ythe asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

17 And Samuel called the people together zunto the Lord to aMizpeh; 18 And said unto the children of Israel, bThus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: 19 cAnd ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore dpresent yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands. 20 And when Samuel had ecaused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they finquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. 23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, ghe was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him hwhom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, †God save the king. 25 Then Samuel told the people ithe manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to kGibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 27 lBut the mchildren of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no npresents. But ||he held his peace.

11 Then Nahash the aAmmonite came up, and encamped against bJabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, cMake a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make da covenant with you, that I may ethrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for fa reproach upon all Israel. 3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, †Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. 4 Then came the messengers to gGibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and hall the people lifted up their voices, and wept. 5 And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 6 And ithe Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. 7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and jhewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, kWhosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out †with one consent. 8 And when he numbered them in lBezek, mthe children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have ||help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow nwe will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. 11 And it was so on the morrow, that oSaul put the people pin three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in qthe morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

12 And the people said unto Samuel, rWho is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? sbring the men, that we may put them to death. 13 And Saul said, tThere shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day uthe Lord hath wrought salvation