1 Samuel 8–15

Israel’s Demand for a King

8When Samuel grew old he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ²The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. ³But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice.

⁴So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵They said to him, “Look, you are old and your sons do not follow in your ways. So then appoint a king for us to judge^a us, like all the nations. ⁶But the matter was displeasing to Samuel^b when they said, “Give us a king to judge^c us,” so Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

⁷Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. ⁸Like all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt until this day, they have forsaken me and have served other gods—so they are doing to you also. ⁹And so then, listen to their voice. However, you must earnestly warn them; you must explain to them the custom of the king who will rule over them.”

¹⁰So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who were requesting a king from him. ¹¹He said, “This will be the custom of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. ¹²He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and those to do his plowing^d and to reap his harvest, and those to make weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. ¹³He will take your daughters as his perfume makers and as cooks and as bakers. ¹⁴He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive trees and will give them to his servants. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and to his servants. ¹⁶He will take your male slaves and your female slaves and the best of your young men^e and your donkeys and will use them for his projects.^{f 17}He will take a tenth of your flocks,^g and you yourselves will become his servants. ¹⁸So you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but Yahweh will not answer you on that day!” ¹⁹However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, “No, but there must be a king over us, ²⁰so that we also^h may be like all the nations, and our king may rule us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh. ²²Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice, and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel spoke to the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his own town.”

Saul, the Requested King, Introduced

9Now there was a man from Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, a very wealthy man.^{a 2}He had a son whose name was Saul,^b a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the Israelites^c more handsome than he was; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.

³Now the female donkeys of Kish the father of Saul got lost, and Kish said to Saul his son, “Please take one of the servants with you and get up; go and seek the female donkeys.” ⁴So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim; he passed through the land of Shalisha but they did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim but they were not there. He passed through the land of Benjamin but did not find them.

⁵When they entered the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the female donkeys and worry about us!” ⁶But he^d said to him, “Look, a man of God is in this town, and the man is honored. All that he says certainly comes true. So then let us go there; perhaps he will tell us about our journey on which we have gone.” ⁷So Saul said to his servant, “Look, we may go, but what should we bring to the man? For the bread is gone from our bags, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have with us?” ⁸The servant again answered Saul and said, “Look, I have^e in my hand a quarter shekel of silver! I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us our way.” ⁹(Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he would say: “Come, let us go up to the seer.” For the prophet of today was formerly called a seer.) ¹⁰So Saul said to his servant, “Your suggestion is a good one.^f Come, let us go.” And they went to the town where the man of God was.

¹¹They were going up the ascent of the town when they found young women going out to draw water. They said to them, “Is there the seer here?” ¹²They answered them and said, “There is. Look, he is just in front of you! Hurry now, because he has come to the town today, because there is a sacrifice for the people today at the high place. ¹³As soon as you enter the town, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. Then afterward the invited guests will eat. So then, go up, because you will find him today!” ¹⁴So they went up to the town. As they were entering into the middle of the town, Samuel was coming forth to meet them, to go up to the high place.

¹⁵Now Yahweh had revealed this to^g Samuel the day before Saul arrived, saying, ¹⁶“This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen the suffering of my people, because their cry of distress has come to me.” ¹⁷When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh answered him, “Here is the man about whom I told you! This is the one who will govern my people.”

¹⁸Then Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate and said, “Please tell me, where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me^h to the high place, and you will eat with me today; then I will send you away in the morning. I will tell you all that is on your mind.^{i 20}And as for your female donkeys that were lost three days ago,^j do not be concerned about them,^k because they have been found. For whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not for you and for all the house of your father?”

²¹Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the humblest of all the families of the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me in this way?”^{l 22}So Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them to a room in the building and gave them a place at the head of the invited guests.^m There were about thirty men. ²³Then Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion that I gave to you, about which I said to you, ‘Keep it with you.’ ” ²⁴So the cook took up the shank and what was on it and put it before Saul, and heⁿ said, “Look, the saved portion^o is placed before you^p—eat, because it has been kept for you for the appointed time,” and he said,^q “I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

²⁵When they came down from the high place to the town, he spoke with Saul on the roof. ²⁶They got up early, and as dawn was breaking,^r Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I can send you away.” So Saul got up and the two of them, he and Samuel, went outside. ²⁷As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us. When he has passed, you stand here a while,^s so that I can make known to you the word of God.”

Saul Is Anointed as King

10Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it over his head and kissed him and said, “Has not^a Yahweh anointed you as leader over his inheritance? ²As you go from with me today,^b you will find two men near the burial site of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The female donkeys that you went to search for have been found.’ Now look, your father is no longer concerned about^c the female donkeys and has begun worrying about you,^d saying, ‘What should I do about my son?’ ³Then you will go on from there and further you will come to the oak of Tabor. There three men will meet you, who are going up to God at Bethel. One will be carrying three male kid goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a skin of wine. ⁴They will ask how you are doing^e and will give you two loaves, which you will take from their hand. ⁵After this, you will come to the Gibeah of God,^f where there are sentries^g of the Philistines. Just as you enter^h the town there, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place, with harp, tambourine, flute, and zither before them, and they will be prophesying. ⁶Then the Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you,ⁱ and you will prophesy with them; and you will turn into a different person.^{j 7}When these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. ⁸Then you will go down before me to Gilgal. Look, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to make^k fellowship offerings. You must wait seven days until I come to you. Then I will let you know what you should do.” ⁹Just as he turned^l his shoulder to depart from Samuel, God changed his^m heart. And all these signs were fulfilled on that day.

¹⁰When they went from there to Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him,ⁿ and he prophesied among them. ¹¹And when^o all who knew him formerly^p saw that he prophesied with prophets, the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹²And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a…