| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the LORD has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?’ |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3“When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept. |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5“When you arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6At that time the Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I will join you there to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. You must wait for seven days until I arrive and give you further instructions.” Samuel’s Signs Are Fulfilled |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9As Saul turned and started to leave, God gave him a new heart, and all Samuel’s signs were fulfilled that day. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, they saw a group of prophets coming toward them. Then the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul, and he, too, began to prophesy. |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11When those who knew Saul heard about it, they exclaimed, “What? Is even Saul a prophet? How did the son of Kish become a prophet?” |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12And one of those standing there said, “Can anyone become a prophet, no matter who his father is?” So that is the origin of the saying “Is even Saul a prophet?” |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13When Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the place of worship. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14“Where have you been?” Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant. “We were looking for the donkeys,” Saul replied, “but we couldn’t find them. So we went to Samuel to ask him where they were.” |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15“Oh? And what did he say?” his uncle asked. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16“He told us that the donkeys had already been found,” Saul replied. But Saul didn’t tell his uncle what Samuel said about the kingdom. Saul Is Acclaimed King |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17Later Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the LORD at Mizpah. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18And he said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by tribes and clans.” |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the LORD, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?” And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else. |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the LORD has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25Then Samuel told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the LORD. Then Samuel sent the people home again. |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him. |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them. [Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn’t a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.] |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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