1 Samuel 10
10
Samuel anoints Saul as king
1Samuel took a small jar of oil and poured it over Saul’s head and kissed him. “The LORD hereby anoints you leader of his people Israel,” Samuel said. “You will rule the LORD’s people and save them from the power of the enemies who surround them. And this will be the sign for you that the LORD has anointed you as leader of his very own possession:#10.1 LXX; MT lacks of his people Israel.… And this will be the sign for you that. 2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys you went looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped thinking about the donkeys and is worried about you. He’s asking: What should I do about my son?’ 3Then, when you’ve gone on a bit farther, you will come to the oak at Tabor. Three men who are going to consult God at Bethel will meet up with you there, one carrying three young goats, one carrying three loaves of bread, and one carrying a jar of wine. 4They will ask how you’re doing and will offer you sacrificial bread,#10.4 LXX; DSS (4QSama) uplifted bread (see Num 18:11); MT two of bread. which you should accept. 5After that, you will come to Gibeath-elohim, which is a Philistine fort. When you enter the town, you will encounter a group of prophets coming down from the shrine preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres. They will be caught up in a prophetic frenzy. 6Then the LORD’s spirit will come over you, and you will be caught up in a prophetic frenzy right along with them; it will be like you’ve become a completely different person. 7Once these signs have happened to you, do whatever you would like to do, because God is with you. 8Then go down to Gilgal ahead of me. I’ll come down to meet you to offer entirely burned offerings and to make well-being sacrifices. Wait seven days until I get to you, then I’ll tell you what you should do next.”
9And just as Saul turned to leave Samuel’s side, God gave him a different heart, and all these signs happened that very same day. 10When Saul and the boy got to Gibeah, there was a group of prophets coming to meet him. God’s spirit came over Saul, and he was caught up in a prophetic frenzy right along with them. 11When all the people who had known Saul saw him prophesying with the prophets, they said to each other, “What’s happened to Kish’s son? Is Saul also one of the prophets?” 12One of the locals then asked, “And who is their leader?”#10.12 Or father So it became a proverb: “Is Saul also one of the prophets?” 13When the prophetic frenzy was over, Saul went home.#10.13 Correction; MT Saul entered the shrine.
14Saul’s uncle said to him and to his young servant, “Where did you go?”
“To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied, “but when we couldn’t find anything, we went to Samuel.”
15“Please tell me what Samuel told you,” Saul’s uncle said.
16“He reassured us that the donkeys had been found,” Saul answered. But Saul didn’t tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
Saul selected as king
17Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah. 18Then he told the Israelites: “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the Egyptians’ power and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 19But today you’ve rejected your God who saved you from all your troubles and difficulties by saying, ‘No! Appoint a king over us!’ So now assemble yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
20Then Samuel brought all the Israelite tribes forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. 21Next Samuel brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the family of Matri was selected. Samuel then brought the family of Matri forward, person by person,#10.21 LXX; MT lacks Samuel then brought the family of Matri forward, person by person. and Saul, Kish’s son, was selected. But when they looked for him, he wasn’t to be found. 22So they asked another question of the LORD: “Has the man come here yet?”
The LORD said, “Yes, he’s hiding among the supplies.” 23They ran and retrieved Saul from there, and when he stood up in the middle of the people, he was head and shoulders taller than anyone else.
24“Can you see the one the LORD has chosen?” Samuel asked all the people. “He has no equal among the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25Samuel then explained to the people how the monarchy should operate#10.25 Or the lawful practices of the monarchy and wrote it in a scroll and placed it in the LORD’s presence. Then Samuel sent every person back to their homes. 26Saul also went back to his home in Gibeah. Along with him went courageous men whose hearts God had touched. 27But some despicable people said, “How can this man save us?” They despised Saul and didn’t bring him gifts, but Saul didn’t say anything.
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1 Samuel 10: CEB
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