Samuel Anoints Saul 1 UST Then Samuel took a small jar of olive oil and poured some of it on Saul’ s head. Then he kissed Saul{ on the cheek}. He told him,“I am doing this because Yahweh has chosen you to be the leader of his Israelite people. 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 UST When you leave here today and start to return home, you will meet two men near Rachel’ s tomb near the town of Zelzah in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. They will say to you,‘Someone has found the donkeys that you were looking for. But now your father is more worried about you. He is saying that he is concerned that you have become lost yourself, and he does not know how to find you.’ 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 UST After leaving Zelzah and continuing your journey, you will arrive at the large oak tree near the town of Tabor. There you will see three men coming toward you. They will be on their way to worship God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats. Another one will be carrying three loaves of bread. The last one will be carrying a container 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 UST They will ask how you are doing, and then they will offer you two of the loaves of bread. Accept them. BSB BSB: They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hands.
5 UST Finally you will get{ back home} to the city of Gibeah where there is a hill on which people worship God and where there is also a camp where Philistine soldiers stay. As you enter the city, you will meet a group of prophets. They will be coming down from the place of worship that is on top of the hill. Prophets playing music on harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres will be leading them. The prophets will be speaking and singing as God inspires them. 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 UST When you meet them, the Spirit of Yahweh will powerfully influence you, and you too will speak and sing as God inspires you. This will affect you so much that you will become like a different person. 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 UST After these things happen, God will be helping you, so do what you think is the right thing to do in each situation. BSB BSB: When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.
8 UST But I would like you to meet me at the city of Gilgal. Listen carefully. I will come there and offer some sacrifices that I will burn completely and other sacrifices for a festive meal that we will share. Wait one week for me to arrive. When I come, I will tell you what other things you should 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 UST Just as Saul started to walk away from Samuel, God changed Saul’ s inner being. And all the things that Samuel had predicted happened that same day. BSB BSB: As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all the signs came to pass that day.
10 UST When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, right away they met a group of prophets. God’ s Spirit influenced Saul powerfully, and he began to speak and sing as the prophets were also doing. 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 UST The people who had known Saul previously were surprised to see that he was speaking and singing as the prophets were doing. They said to each other,“How has this happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul really one of 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 UST One of the men who lived there replied,“These other men did not become prophets because of who their fathers were.” And that is why,{ when a person achieves something that people would not have expected based on his background,} people say,“Is Saul really one of 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 UST After Saul finished speaking and singing as God inspired him, he went up to the hill near the city where the people worshiped God. BSB BSB: And when Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place.
14 UST When Saul’ s uncle saw him there, he asked him and his servant,“Where have you been?” Saul replied,“We went to look for the donkeys. When we could not find them, we went to ask Samuel if he could tell us where they were.” 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 UST Saul’ s uncle asked,“What did Samuel tell you?” BSB BSB: “Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?”
16 UST Saul answered,“He assured us that someone had found the donkeys.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said to him about becoming the king of Israel. 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 UST Then Samuel told the people of Israel to gather at Mizpah to hear a message from Yahweh. BSB BSB: After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah
18 UST After they arrived, he said to them,“Yahweh, the God whom we Israelite people worship, has a message for you. He says,‘I brought you Israelite people out of Egypt. I rescued your ancestors from the power of the rulers of Egypt, and I have rescued you from all the other kings who have oppressed you since then.’ 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 UST But even though he rescues you from all the difficulties you encounter, now you no longer want God to be the one who rules you. Instead, you have asked him to select a man to rule you as king.{ So that Yahweh can indicate what man he is choosing,} I want representatives of your tribes and clans to come forward and stand here in the presence of Yahweh.” 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 UST When the representatives of the Israelite tribes approached, Samuel threw a lot, and God made it indicate that he had chosen someone from the tribe of Benjamin. BSB BSB: Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.
21 UST Then Samuel had the representatives of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin come forward. Samuel threw another lot, and God made it indicate that he had chosen someone from the clan of Matri. Samuel threw another lot, and God made it indicate that he had chosen Saul son of Kish from that clan. But when they looked for Saul, no one could find him. 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 UST So they asked Yahweh,“Can we not find Saul because he has not arrived here yet?” Yahweh replied,“I will tell you where he is. He is hiding under the baggage.” 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 UST So they quickly went there and found Saul. They had him stand in front of all the people. They observed how much taller he was than other men{, and this impressed them}. 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 UST Then Samuel said to all the people there,“This is the king whom Yahweh has chosen for you. Certainly he is taller and stronger than any other Israelite!” All the people shouted,“May God keep this king alive!” 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 UST Then Samuel told the people what the responsibilities of the king would be and what responsibilities they would have toward him. He wrote all those things in a scroll. He placed the scroll for safekeeping in a location where people worshiped Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people home. 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 UST Saul returned to his home in the city of Gibeah. A group of strong soldiers decided to accompany Saul continually. They did that because God had motivated each of them to do it. BSB BSB: Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
27 UST But some bad men said,“A man like him will not be able to save us from our enemies!” They did not think he would make a good king, and they refused to give him any gifts{ to show that they would be loyal to him}. But{ even though Saul knew about their insult,} he said nothing about it at the time. 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.