1 Samuel 10
Living Bible
10 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head, and kissed him on the cheek and said,
“I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the king of his people, Israel! 2 When you leave me, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, in the land of Benjamin; they will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father is worried about you and is asking, ‘How am I to find my son?’ 3 And when you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at the altar at Bethel; one will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will have a bottle of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept. 5 After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim, also known as “God’s Hill,” where the garrison of the Philistines is. As you arrive there you will meet a band of prophets coming down the hill playing a psaltery, a timbrel, a flute, and a harp, and prophesying as they come.
6 “At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come mightily upon you and you will prophesy with them, and you will feel and act like a different person. 7 From that time on your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for the Lord will guide you. 8 Go to Gilgal and wait there seven days for me, for I will be coming to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. I will give you further instructions when I arrive.”
9 As Saul said good-bye and started to go, God gave him a new attitude, and all of Samuel’s prophecies came true that day. 10 When Saul and the servant arrived at the Hill of God, they saw the prophets coming toward them, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he too began to prophesy.
11 When his friends heard about it, they exclaimed, “What? Saul a prophet?” 12 And one of the neighbors added, “With a father like his?” So that is the origin of the proverb, “Is Saul a prophet too?”[a]
13 When Saul had finished prophesying he climbed the hill to the altar.
14 “Where in the world did you go?” Saul’s uncle asked him.
And Saul replied, “We went to look for the donkeys, but we couldn’t find them; so we went to the prophet Samuel to ask him where they were.”
15 “Oh? And what did he say?” his uncle asked.
16 “He said the donkeys had been found!” Saul replied. (But he didn’t tell him that he had been anointed as king!)
17 Samuel now called a convocation of all Israel at Mizpah 18-19 and gave them this message from the Lord God: “I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were torturing you. But although I have done so much for you, you have rejected me and have said, ‘We want a king instead!’ All right, then, present yourselves before the Lord by tribes and clans.”
20 So Samuel called the tribal leaders together before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by sacred lot. 21 Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally the sacred lot selected Saul, the son of Kish. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared!
22 So they asked the Lord, “Where is he? Is he here among us?”
And the Lord replied, “He is hiding in the baggage.”
23 So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.
24 Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. There isn’t his equal in all of Israel!”
And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people again what the rights and duties of a king were; he wrote them in a book and put it in a special place before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home again.
26 When Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, a band of men whose hearts the Lord had touched became his constant companions. 27 There were, however, some bums and loafers who exclaimed, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and refused to bring him presents, but he took no notice.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 10:12 Is Saul a prophet too? This was an expression of surprise concerning worldly Saul becoming religious, equivalent to our “He’s got religion?”
1 Samuel 10
English Standard Version
Saul Anointed King
10 (A)Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head (B)and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince[a] over (C)his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince[b] over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by (D)Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, (E)‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now (F)your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the (G)oak of Tabor. Three men (H)going up (I)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 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to (J)Gibeath-elohim,[c] (K)where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down (L)from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 (M)Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, (N)and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when (O)these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, (P)for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me (Q)to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and (R)to sacrifice peace offerings. (S)Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to (T)Gibeah,[d] behold, a group of prophets met him, (U)and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? (V)Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, (W)“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, (X)“Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 (Y)Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, (Z)“To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, (AA)“He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
Saul Proclaimed King
17 Now Samuel called the people together (AB)to the Lord (AC)at Mizpah. 18 And he said to the people of Israel, (AD)“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 (AE)But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore (AF)present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20 Then Samuel (AG)brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;[e] and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 (AH)So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, (AI)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him (AJ)whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, (AK)“Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people (AL)the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to his home (AM)at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some (AN)worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 10:1 Or leader
- 1 Samuel 10:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks over his people Israel? And you shall…. to be prince
- 1 Samuel 10:5 Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God
- 1 Samuel 10:10 Gibeah means the hill
- 1 Samuel 10:21 Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
