Samuel Anoints Saul 1 ULT And Samuel took a flask of oil and poured{ it} on his head, and he kissed him. And he said,“{ Is it} not that Yahweh has anointed you as ruler over his inheritance? BSB BSB: Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
2 ULT In your going today from with me, then you will find two men near the tomb of Rachel in the border of Benjamin in Zelzah. And they will say to you,‘The female donkeys that you went to seek have been found. And behold, your father has abandoned the matters of the female donkeys and has become concerned about you, saying,“What shall I do about my son?”’ BSB BSB: When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’
3 ULT And you will go on from there and farther, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. And three men going up to God{ at} Bethel will find you there, one carrying three young goats and one carrying three loaves of bread and one carrying a skin of wine. BSB BSB: Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.
4 ULT And they will ask about you regarding peace, and they will give to you two{ loaves of} bread, and you shall take{ them} from their hand. BSB BSB: They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hands.
5 ULT After this you will come{ to} Gibeah of God, where the garrisons of the Philistines{ are} there. And it will happen, in your coming there{ to} the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place. And to their face{ will be} a harp and a tambourine and a flute and a lyre. And they will be prophesying. BSB BSB: After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.
6 ULT And the Spirit of Yahweh will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them. And you will be changed into another man. BSB BSB: Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
7 ULT And let it be, when these signs come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds, for God is with you. BSB BSB: When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.
8 ULT But go down to my face{ to} Gilgal. And behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. May you wait seven days until my coming to you, and I will make known to you what you shall do.” BSB BSB: And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”
Samuel’s Signs Fulfilled 9 ULT And it happened, as he turned his shoulder to go from with Samuel, that God changed to him another heart. And all of these signs came on that day. BSB BSB: As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all the signs came to pass that day.
10 ULT And they came there to Gibeah, and behold, a group of prophets met him. And the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied in their midst. BSB BSB: When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.
11 ULT And it happened that every{ one} knowing him from yesterday and the third day saw, and behold,{ he was} prophesying with the prophets, and the people said, a man to his neighbor,“What{ is} this{ that} has happened to the son of Kish?{ Is} Saul also among the prophets?” BSB BSB: When all those who had formerly known Saul saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
12 ULT And a man from there answered and said,“And who{ is} their father?” Therefore it became a proverb,“Is Saul also among the prophets?” BSB BSB: Then a man who lived there replied, “And who is their father?” So the saying became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
13 ULT And he ceased from prophesying, and he came to the high place. BSB BSB: And when Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place.
14 ULT And the uncle of Saul said to him and to his servant,“Where did you go?” And he said,“To seek the female donkeys. And we saw that{ they were} not, so we came to Samuel.” BSB BSB: Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15 ULT And the uncle of Saul said,“Please declare to me what Samuel said to you.” BSB BSB: “Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”
16 ULT And Saul said to his uncle,“Declaring, he declared to us that the female donkeys had been found.” But he did not declare to him the word of the kingship that Samuel had said. BSB BSB: And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
Saul Proclaimed King 17 ULT And Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah. BSB BSB: After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah
18 ULT And he said to the sons of Israel,“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel:‘I myself brought up Israel from Egypt. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all of the kingdoms oppressing you.’ BSB BSB: and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’
19 ULT But you today have rejected your God, him who is saving you from all of your calamities and your distresses. And you have said to him that‘you shall set a king over us.’ And now, station yourselves to the face of Yahweh according to your tribes and according to your thousands.” BSB BSB: But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
20 ULT And Samuel brought near all of the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken. BSB BSB: Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.
21 ULT And he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans, and the clan of the Matrite was taken. And Saul, the son of Kish, was taken, so they sought him, but he was not found. BSB BSB: Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.
22 ULT So they asked of Yahweh again,“Has the man come here yet?” And Yahweh said,“Behold, he has hidden himself among the bags.” BSB BSB: So again they inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
23 ULT And they ran, and they took him from there. And he stationed himself in the midst of the people. And he was taller than any of the people from his shoulder and upward. BSB BSB: So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others.
24 ULT And Samuel said to all of the people,“Do you see upon whom Yahweh has chosen? For{ there is} no one like him among all of the people!” And all of the people shouted and said,“May the king live!” BSB BSB: Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 ULT And Samuel spoke to the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote{ it} in a book, and he made{ it} rest to the face of Yahweh. And Samuel sent away all of the people, a man to his house. BSB BSB: Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.
26 ULT And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah. And with him went the mighty whom God had touched upon their hearts. BSB BSB: Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
27 ULT But some sons of wickedness said,“How shall this{ one} save us?” And they despised him, and they did not bring a gift to him. But he was like one being silent. BSB BSB: But some worthless men said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.