Chapter 10

Then Samuel took⁴ a vial of oil, and poured⁴ [it] upon his head, and kissed⁴ him, and said,⁴ [Is it] not because the LORD hath anointed¹ thee [to be] captain over his inheritance?

When thou art departed² from me to day, then thou shalt find¹ two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say¹ unto thee, The asses which thou wentest¹ to seek¹⁵ are found:⁸ and, lo, thy father hath left¹ the care of the asses, and sorroweth¹ for you, saying,² What shall I do⁴ for my son?

Then shalt thou go on¹ forward from thence, and thou shalt come¹ to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet¹ thee three men going up⁶ to God to Bethel, one carrying⁶ three kids, and another carrying⁶ three loaves of bread, and another carrying⁶ a bottle of wine:

And they will¹ salute thee, and give¹ thee two [loaves] of bread; which thou shalt receive¹ of their hands.

After that thou shalt come⁴ to the hill of God, where [is] the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come² thither to the city, that thou shalt meet¹ a company of prophets coming down⁶ from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:¹⁰²

And the Spirit of the LORD will come¹ upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy⁹⁸ with them, and shalt be turned⁸ into another man.

And let it be, when these signs are come⁴ unto thee, [that] thou do³ as occasion⁴ serve thee; for God [is] with thee.

And thou shalt go down¹ before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down⁶ unto thee, to offer⁵³ burnt offerings, [and] to sacrifice² sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry,⁵⁵ till I come² to thee, and shew⁵² thee what thou shalt do.⁴

And it was [so], that when he had turned⁵³ his back to go² from Samuel, God gave⁴ him another heart: and all those signs came to pass⁴ that day.

And when they came⁴ thither to the hill, ¹³⁹⁰ behold, a company of prophets met² him; and the Spirit of God came⁴ upon him, and he prophesied¹⁰¹ among them.

And it came to pass, when all that knew⁶ him beforetime ⁸⁰³² saw⁴ that, behold, he prophesied⁸ among the prophets, then the people said⁴ one to another, What [is] this [that] is come unto the son of Kish? [Is] Saul also among the prophets?

And one of the same place answered⁴ and said,⁴ But who [is] their father? Therefore it became a proverb, [Is] Saul also among the prophets?

And when he had made an end¹⁷ of prophesying,⁹⁹ he came⁴ to the high place.

And Saul's uncle said⁴ unto him and to his servant, Whither went¹ ye? And he said,⁴ To seek¹⁵ the asses: and when we saw⁴ that [they were] no where, we came⁴ to Samuel.

And Saul's uncle said,⁴ Tell⁵⁴ me, I pray thee, what Samuel said¹ unto you.

And Saul said⁴ unto his uncle, He told⁵² us plainly⁵³ that the asses were found.⁸ But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake,¹ he told⁵² him not.

And Samuel called⁵⁵ the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;

And said⁴ unto the children of Israel, Thus saith¹ the LORD God of Israel, I brought up⁵² Israel out of Egypt, and delivered⁵⁵ you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, [and] of them that oppressed⁵ you:

And ye have this day rejected¹ your God, who himself saved⁵⁶ you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said⁴ unto him, [Nay], but set⁴ a king over us. Now therefore present¹⁰⁰ yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.

And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near,⁵⁵ the tribe of Benjamin was taken.¹¹

When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near⁵⁵ by their families, the family of Matri was taken,¹¹ and Saul the son of Kish was taken:¹¹ and when they sought¹⁷ him, he could not be found.⁸

Therefore they enquired⁴ of the LORD further, if the man should yet come¹ thither. And the LORD answered,⁴ Behold, he hath hid¹² himself among the stuff.

And they ran⁴ and fetched⁴ him thence: and when he stood¹⁰¹ among the people, he was higher⁴ than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.

And Samuel said⁴ to all the people, See¹ ye him whom the LORD hath chosen,¹ that [there is] none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted,⁵⁵ and said,⁴ God save⁴ the king.

Then Samuel told¹⁷ the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote⁴ [it] in a book, and laid [it] up⁵⁵ before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away,¹⁷ every man to his house.

And Saul also went¹ home to Gibeah; and there went⁴ with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.¹

But the children of Belial said,¹ How shall this man save⁵⁵ us? And they despised⁴ him, and brought⁵² him no presents. But he held his peace.⁵⁶