| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? | 1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over his inheritance? |
| 2When thou art departed from me to day, 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 wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? | 2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"' |
| 3Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: | 3"Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. |
| 4And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. | 4They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them. |
| 5After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison 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 from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: | 5"After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. |
| 6And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. | 6The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. |
| 7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. | 7Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. |
| 8And 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, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. | 8"Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do." |
| 9And 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. | 9As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. |
| 10And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. | 10When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. |
| 11And 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? Is Saul also among the prophets? | 11When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" |
| 12And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? | 12A man who lived there answered, "And who is their father?" So it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?" |
| 13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. | 13After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place. |
| 14And Saul'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. | 14Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have you been?" "Looking for the donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel." |
| 15And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. | 15Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you." |
| 16And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not. | 16Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship. |
| 17And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; | 17Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the LORD at Mizpah |
| 18And said unto the children of Israel, Thus 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: | 18and said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.' |
| 19And 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 present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. | 19But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, 'No, appoint a king over us.' So now present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans." |
| 20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. | 20When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. |
| 21When 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. | 21Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri's clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. |
| 22Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. | 22So they inquired further of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD said, "Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies." |
| 23And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. | 23They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. |
| 24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom 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. | 24Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!" |
| 25Then Samuel told the people the 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. | 25Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes. |
| 26And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. | 26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. |
| 27But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. | 27But some scoundrels said, "How can this fellow save us?" They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent. |
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