1 Samuel / Saul Chosen and Given Signs

Saul Chosen and Given Signs

1 Samuel 9:1-10:8

Chapter 9

¹ And there was a man from Benjamin, and his name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah son of a Benjaminite mighty man of valor. ² And he had a son, and his name was Saul, a young man and good. There was no man among the sons of Israel good like him; from his shoulders and upward he was taller than all the people. ³ The donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, "Take one of the young men with you now, arise, and go seek the donkeys." ⁴ He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. They passed through the land of Shaalim, but there were none. He passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them. ⁵ They came to the land of Zoan, and Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, and let us return, lest he stop looking for the donkeys and worry about us." ⁶ He said to him, "Look, a man of God is in this city, and the man is honored; everything that he speaks comes true. Come, let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us our way that we have taken." ⁷ And he said, Saul to his servant, "And behold, we will go, and what will we bring to the man? For the bread has gone from our vessels, and there is no present to bring to the man, the God. What with us?" ⁸ The young man answered Saul again and said, "Look, I have a quarter shekel of silver here. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way." ⁹ Formerly in Israel, this is what a person said when going to inquire of God: "Come, let us go to the seer," for today one calls the seer a prophet—the seer of former times. ¹⁰ Saul said to his servant, "Good; your word is good. Come, let us go." And they went to the city where the man of God was. ¹¹ They went up the ascent to the city, and they found young women going out to draw water. They said to them, "Is the seer in this place?" ¹² And they answered them and said, "Yes, look, he is right before you. Hurry! For the day has come to the city, for there is a cultic sacrifice today for the people at Bamah." ¹³ As you come to the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, for he will bless the sacrifice; after that, the invitees will eat. Now go up, for you will find him today, at this very time. ¹⁴ They went up to the city. As they were coming into the middle of the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place. ¹⁵ Now the LORD had revealed to Samuel's ear one day before Saul came, saying: ¹⁶ Tomorrow I will send a man to you from the land of Benjamin, and you will anoint him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have seen the trouble of my people, because their cry has come to me. ¹⁷ And Samuel saw Saul, and the LORD said to him: "Look, the man of whom I said to you, 'This one will restrain my people.'" ¹⁸ And Saul approached Samuel in the midst of the vestibule and said, "Please tell me, where is the house of the seer?" ¹⁹ And Samuel answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, and you will eat with Amminadab today. And I will send you in the morning, and everything that is in your heart, he will tell you." ²⁰ And as for the donkeys lost to you today three days ago, do not set your heart on them, for they have been found. And to whom does all the desire of Israel belong? Is it not to you and to all the house of your father? ²¹ And Saul answered and said, "Am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my clan is the most insignificant of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me this word?" ²² And Shemuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the chamber, and he gave them a place at the head of the called ones, and they were about thirty men. ²³ And Shemuel said to the cook, "Give the portion that I gave you, which I said to you, 'Put it aside for yourself.'" ²⁴ And the cook took the thigh and the upper part and set them before Saul. And he said, "Here is the remaining one—set it before you and eat, for it has been kept for you until the appointed time, saying, 'I have called the people.'" ²⁵ And they went down from the high place to the city, and he spoke with Saul on the roof. ²⁶ And they rose early, and it was as the dawn ascended, and Shemuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, "Rise, and I will send you away." And Saul rose, and they two went out—he and Shemuel—outside. ²⁷ They went down to the edge of the city, and Samuel said to Saul, "Say to the servant, 'Go on ahead of us,' and he will pass on. But you stand here a while, that I may make known to you the word of God."

Chapter 10

¹ And Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Is it not that the LORD has anointed you over his inheritance to be ruler?” ² When you go today from me, you will find two men by the burial site of Rachel in the boundary of Benjamin at Tzalzah, and they will say to you, "The donkeys which you went to seek have been found. And behold, your father has abandoned the words of the donkeys and is worried for you, saying, 'What shall I do for my son?'" ³ And you will pass on from there and come to the oak of Tabor, and three men going up to God in Bethel will find you there—one bearing three kids, one bearing three loaves of bread, and one bearing a skin of wine. ⁴ And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, and you will take them from their hand. ⁵ After that you will come to the hill of God, where Philistines are stationed. And as you come there to the city, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them lyre and tambourine and flute and harp, and they prophesying. ⁶ And the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and you will be turned into another man. ⁷ And when these signs come to you, do whatever your hand finds, for God is with you. ⁸ And you shall go down before Gilgal, and I am going down to you to offer a burnt offering and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until my coming to you, and I will make known to you what you shall do.