1 ¶ Then Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it upon his head and kissed him and said, Is it not because the LORD has anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

Then Samuel took a bottle of oil and poured it on Saul’s head. He kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord chosen you to be a ruler over His land?

2 W hen thou art departed from me today, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel’s sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou didst go to seek are found, and thy father has left the care of the asses and sorrows for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?

When you leave me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s grave in the land of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and is worried about you, saying, “What should I do about my son?”’

3 T hen shalt thou go on forward from there, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and three men going up to God to Bethel shall meet thee, one carrying three kids and another carrying three loaves of bread and another carrying a bottle of wine.

Then you will go farther and come to the oak tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One will be carrying three young goats. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. And another will be carrying a bottle of wine.

4 A nd they will salute thee and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.

They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will take from their hand.

5 A fter that thou shalt come to the hill of God where the garrison of the Philistines is, and it shall come to pass when thou art come there to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery and a tambourine and a pipe and a harp before them; and they shall prophesy.

Then you will come to the hill of God where there are Philistine soldiers. When you come there to the city, you will meet a group of men who speak for God coming down from the high place. They will have harps, an object to beat sounds of joy, and a horn. And they will be speaking God’s Word.

6 A nd the Spirit of the LORD will prosper thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them and shalt be turned into another man.

Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you with power. You will speak God’s Word with them and be changed into another man.

7 A nd let it be when these signs are come unto thee that thou do according as thou shalt find at hand, for God is with thee.

When you see these special things, do whatever you find that should be done. For God is with you.

8 A nd thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal, and, behold, I will come down unto thee to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days shalt thou tarry until I come to thee and show thee what thou shalt do.

You will go down before me to Gilgal. Then see, I will come down to you to give burnt gifts and peace gifts. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”

9 ¶ And it was so that when he had turned his shoulder to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all those signs came to pass that day.

When Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart. And all these special things happened on that day.

10 A nd when they came there to the hill, behold, the company of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God prospered him, and he prophesied among them.

When they came to the hill, a group of men who speak for God met him. The Spirit of God came upon him with power, so that he spoke God’s Word with them.

11 A nd 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 has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?

People who had known him before saw him doing this and asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the men who speak God’s Word?”

12 A nd one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore, it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

One of the men there answered, “Now, who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul one of the men who speak God’s Word?”

13 A nd he ceased prophesying and came to the high place.

When Saul had finished speaking the Word of God, he went to the altar at the high place.

14 A nd Saul’s uncle said unto him and to his servant, Where went ye? And he said, To seek the asses, and when we saw that they were nowhere, we came to Samuel.

The brother of Saul’s father said to him and his servant, “Where have you been?” And Saul said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.”

15 A nd Saul’s uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.

The brother of Saul’s father said, “Tell me, what did Samuel say to you?”

16 A nd Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he did not tell him.

Saul said to his father’s brother, “He told us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him what Samuel had told him about being king.

17 ¶ And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh

Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah.

18 a nd said unto the sons of Israel, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, 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 those that oppressed you.

He said to the people of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from the power of the Egyptians, and from the power of all the nations that made it hard for you.’

19 B ut ye have this day rejected your God, who saves you out of all your afflictions and your troubles, and ye have said unto him, No, but set a king over us. Now, therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.

But today you have turned away from your God, Who saves you from all your troubles. You have said, ‘No! Have a king rule over us!’ So now come before the Lord, by your family groups and by your thousands.”

20 A nd when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

When Samuel brought all the families of Israel near, the name of the family group of Benjamin was drawn.

21 W hen he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their lineages, the family of Matri was taken, and from it Saul the son of Kish was taken, and when they sought him, he could not be found.

Then he brought the family group of Benjamin near by its families, and the name of the Matrite family was drawn. Then the name of Saul the son of Kish was drawn. But when they looked for him, he could not be found.

22 T herefore, they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come there. And the LORD answered, Behold, he has hid himself among the stuff.

So they asked the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” The Lord said, “See, he is hiding among the bags.”

23 A nd they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

They ran and brought him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of them.

24 A nd Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted and said, Long live the king.

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? For sure there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people called out and said, “Long live the king!”

25 T hen Samuel recited unto the people the rights of the kingdom and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house.

Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the king and his nation. He wrote them in a book and laid it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home.

26 A nd Saul also went home to Gibeah, and there went with him some from the army, whose hearts God had touched.

Saul went home to Gibeah. And the strong men whose hearts God had touched went with him.

27 B ut the sons of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no presents. But he pretended not to notice.

But some men of no worth said, “How can this man save us?” They hated him and did not bring him any gift. But he kept quiet.