1 Samuel 9–12

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was aKish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, ||a Benjamite, a mighty man of ||power. 2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, ba choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: cfrom his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. 3 And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through dmount Ephraim, and passed through the land of eShalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of fShalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not. 5 And when they were come to the land of gZuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and htake thought for us. 6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city ia man of God, and he is an honourable man; jall that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. 7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, kwhat shall we bring the man? for the bread †is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to ithe man of God: what †have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, †I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. 9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man lwent to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called ma Seer.) 10 Then said Saul to his servant, †Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was. 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 …