1Then Samuel took the vial of oil , and poured it upon his head , and kissed him , and said, Is it not that Jehovah hath anointed thee to be prince 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 off caring for the asses, and is anxious for you , saying , What shall I do for my son ? 3Then shalt thou go on forward from thence , and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor ; and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el , one carrying three kids , and another carrying three loaves of bread , and another carrying a bottle of wine : 4and they will salute thee , and give thee two loaves of bread , which thou shalt receive of their hand . 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 band of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery , and a timbrel , and a pipe , and a harp , before them ; and they will be prophesying : 6and the Spirit of Jehovah will come mightily upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them , and shalt be turned into another man. 7And let it be , when these signs are come unto thee , that thou do as occasion shall serve thee ; for God is with thee . 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 unto thee , and show thee what thou shalt do .
Saul's Transformation and Confirmation
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 . 10And when they came thither to the hill , behold , a band of prophets met him ; and the Spirit of God came mightily upon him , and he prophesied among them . 11And it came to pass , when all that knew him beforetime saw that , behold , he prophesied with 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 ? 12And one of the same place answered and said , And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb , Is Saul also among the prophets ? 13And when he had made an end of prophesying , he came to the high place .
Saul's Public Selection as King
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 not found, we came to Samuel . 15And Saul ’s uncle said, Tell me , I pray thee , what Samuel said unto you . 16And Saul said unto his uncle , He told us plainly that the asses were found . But concerning the matter of the kingdom , whereof Samuel spake, he told him not . 17And Samuel called the people together unto Jehovah to Mizpah ; 18and he said unto the children of Israel , Thus saith Jehovah , the God of Israel , I brought up Israel out of Egypt , and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians , and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you : 19but ye have this day rejected your God , who himself saveth you out of all your calamities and your distresses ; and ye have said unto him , Nay , but set a king over us . Now therefore present yourselves before Jehovah by your tribes , and by your thousands. 20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near , and the tribe of Benjamin was taken . 21And he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families ; and the family of the Matrites was taken ; and Saul the son of Kish was taken : but when they sought him , he could not be found . 22Therefore they asked of Jehovah further , Is there yet a man to come hither ? And Jehovah answered, Behold , he hath hid himself among the baggage . 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 . 24And Samuel said to all the people , See ye him whom Jehovah hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people ? And all the people shouted , and said, 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 Jehovah . And Samuel sent all the people away , every man to his house . 26And Saul also went to his house to Gibeah ; and there went with him the host , whose hearts God had touched . 27But certain worthless fellows said , How shall this man save us ? And they despised him , and brought him no present . But he held his peace .