 1 Samuel took a vial of oil and poured on his head, and kissed him and said, Is it not because the Lord has anointed you for a leader over His inheritance? 2 When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel's tomb in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, The donkeys that you sought are found. Your father has quit caring for the donkeys and sorrows for you saying, What shall I do for my son? 3 You shall go forward from there and come to the great tree of Tabor. There you will meet three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread that you shall take from their hand. 5 After that, you shall come to the hill of God where there is a garrison of Philistines. When you come there to the city, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp and a tambourine and a flute and a lyre before them, and they will prophesy. 6 The spirit of the Lord will come powerfully on you and you shall prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 When these signs have come to you, you will do for yourself what your hand finds. For God is with you. 8 You shall go down before me to Gilgal. And, behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. You shall stay seven days until I come to you and make known to you what you shall do. 9 When he turned his back to go from Samuel, God changed him with another heart and all those signs came on that day. 10 They came there to the hill, a company of prophets met him and the Spirit of God came on him and he prophesied among them. 11 When all who knew him before saw him, behold, he prophesied among the prophets. And the people said to one another, What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 12 A man from there said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 13 He finished from prophesying, and he came to the high place. 14 Saul's uncle said to him and to his young man, Where did you go? And he said, To look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere, we came to Samuel. 15 Saul's uncle said, Please tell me, what Samuel said to you. 16 Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys were found. But he did not tell him of the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel spoke. 17 Samuel called the people together to the Lord to Mizpeh. 18 He said to the children of Israel, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the Egyptians, and from all kingdoms, of those who oppressed you. 19 You have this day rejected your God who Himself saved you out of all your calamities and your tribulations. You have said to Him, Set a king over us. Now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands. 20 When Samuel had caused 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. They looked for him but he could not be found. 22 They inquired of the Lord further, Has the man yet come here? The Lord answered, Indeed+, he is hiding himself among the baggage. 23 They ran and brought him from there and when he stood among the people, he was taller than all of the people from the shoulders and upward. 24 Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people? Then all the people shouted and said, Let the king live. 25 Then Samuel told the people the duties of the kingdom and he wrote in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his house. 26 Saul also went home to Gibeah, and a band of men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But the sons of Belial said, How shall this man save us? They despised him and brought him no present. But he was silent.
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