1 Samuel 10-12

International Standard Version

Saul is Anointed King

10 Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s^[a] head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord has anointed you Commander-in-Chief^[b] over his inheritance, has he not? ² When you leave me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘The donkeys you went to look for have been found. Now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys^[c] and he’s anxious about you. He’s asking, ‘What will I do about my son?’ ³ Then you’ll go on further from there and come to the oak at Tabor. There three men going up to the Lord at Bethel will meet you. One will be herding^[d] three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a bottle^[e] of wine. ⁴ They’ll greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you’re to accept from them.

⁵ “After that you will come to Gibeath-elohim^[f] where the Philistine garrison is. As you arrive there at the town, you’ll meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre being played in front of them, and they’ll be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you’ll prophesy with them and be changed into a different person. ⁷ When these signs occur,^[g] do whatever you want^[h] to do, because the Lord is with you. ⁸ You are to go down ahead of me to Gilgal, and then I’ll come down to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. You are to wait seven days until I come to you to let you know what you are to do.”

The Spirit of God Comes on Saul

⁹ Now it happened as Saul^[i] turned his back to leave Samuel, that God gave him another heart,^[j] and all these signs occurred on that day. ¹⁰ When they arrived there at Gibeah,^[k] a band of prophets was right there to meet them. The Spirit of God came upon Saul,^[l] and he prophesied^[m] along with them. ¹¹ When all those who had known Saul previously saw that he was there among the prophets prophesying, the people told one another, “What has happened to Kish’s son? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

¹² A man from there answered: “Now who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ When he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

¹⁴ Saul’s uncle told him and to his young man, “Where did you go?”

He said, “To look for the donkeys, and when we saw that they couldn’t be found, we went to Samuel.”

¹⁵ Then Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel told you.”

¹⁶ Saul told his uncle, “He actually told us that the donkeys had been found,” but he did not tell him about the matter of kingship about which Samuel had spoken.

Saul is Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸ He told the Israelis, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power^[n] of Egypt and from the power^[o] of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But today you have rejected your God who delivers you from all your troubles and difficulties. You have said, ‘No!^[p] Instead, appoint a king over us.’ Now present yourselves in the Lord’s presence by your tribes and families.”

²⁰ Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was chosen. Finally, Kish’s son Saul was chosen, but when they looked for him, they couldn’t find him. ²² So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”

The Lord said, “He is here, hiding among the baggage.”

²³ They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the others by a head.^{[q] 24} Then Samuel told all the people, “Do you see the man whom the Lord has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people.”

Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

²⁵ Samuel explained to the people the regulations^[r] concerning kingship. He wrote them in a scroll and placed it in the Lord’s presence. Then Samuel sent all the people to their own houses. ²⁶ Saul also went to his house in Gibeah, and the soldiers^[s] whose hearts God had touched went with him. ²⁷ But some troublemakers^[t] said, “How can this man deliver us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift. But Saul^[u] remained silent.

The Ammonites Threaten Jabesh-gilead

²⁸ Meanwhile, Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been severely oppressing the descendants of Gad and descendants of Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and not allowing Israel to have a deliverer. No one was left among the Israelis across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. However, 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh-gilead.^[v]

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 So after a month,^[w] Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to^[x] Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh told Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”

² Nahash the Ammonite told them, “I’ll make a covenant with you on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel.”

³ The elders of Jabesh told him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then if no one delivers us, we will come out to you and surrender.”^{[y] 4} When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported the terms to the people,^[z] all the people cried loudly.^[aa]

⁵ Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind the oxen and he said, “What’s with the people? Why are they crying?” They reported to him what the men of Jabesh had said.^[ab]

⁶ When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God came on him, and he was very angry. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent the pieces^[ac] by messengers through all the territory of Israel: “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not come out and join^[ad] Saul and Samuel!” The fear of the Lord fell on the people and they came out as one man.

⁸ Saul^[ae] mustered them at Bezek, and there were 300,000 Israelis and 30,000 men of Judah. ⁹ They told the messengers who had come, “You are to say this to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be delivered.’” The messengers went and reported to the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.

¹⁰ The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you and surrender.^[af] Then you can do whatever you want to us.”

¹¹ The next day Saul separated the people into three companies. They came into the camp during the morning watch, and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered so that no two of them remained together.

¹² The people told Samuel, “Who said, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Bring them to us^[ag] and we will put them to death!”

¹³ But Saul said, “Let no one be put to death this day, because today the Lord has delivered Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel told the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and reaffirm the kingship there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king in the Lord’s presence in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings in the Lord’s presence, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel’s Farewell

12 Then Samuel told all Israel, “Take note! I’ve listened to you, to everything you have told me, and I’ve appointed a king over you. ² Now here is the king walking before you,^[ah] while I’m old and gray, and my sons are with you. I’ve walked before you^[ai] from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am. Testify against me in the Lord’s presence and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken? Who have I cheated? Who have I oppressed? Who bribed me to look the other way?^[aj] I’ll restore it to you.”

⁴ They said, “You haven’t cheated us or oppressed us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

⁵ He told them, “Today the Lord is testifying, along with his anointed, that you haven’t found any bribes in my possession.”

They said, “He’s a witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel told the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now stand up and I’ll pass judgment on you in light of the Lord’s righteous acts that he did for you and your ancestors. ⁸ After Jacob went to Egypt, and your ancestors cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But they forgot the Lord their God, so he handed them over to the domination of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into domination by the Philistines and by the king of Moab, and Israel fought against them.

¹⁰ “Then they cried out to the Lord: ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served^[ak] the Baals^[al] and the Ashtaroth.^[am] Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve^[an] you.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal,^[ao] Barak,^[ap] Jephthah, and Samuel and he delivered you from the hand of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely. ¹² But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was coming to fight you, you told me, ‘No, let a king rule over us instead,’ even though the Lord your God was your king.

¹³ “Now, here is the king you have chosen, the one whom you asked for. See, the Lord has appointed a king over you. ¹⁴ If you fear the Lord, serve him, obey him, and don’t rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who rules over you will truly follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But if you don’t obey the Lord and rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the Lord will turn against you as he did against your ancestors.^[aq]

¹⁶ “Now then, stand up and see this great thing that the Lord is about to do before your eyes. ¹⁷ Is it not the wheat harvest today? I’ll call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain. Then you will know and understand that you have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves.” ¹⁸ Samuel called upon the Lord that same day, and the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people told Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we don’t die, because we made all our sins worse by asking for a king for ourselves.”

²⁰ Samuel told all the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have done all this evil. Yet don’t turn aside from following the Lord, but serve^[ar] the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Don’t turn aside after useless things^[as] that cannot profit or deliver because they’re useless. ²² Indeed, the Lord won’t abandon His people for the sake of His great name, for the Lord desires to make you a people for himself. ²³ Now as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I’ll also instruct you in the way that is good and right. ²⁴ Only, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Indeed, consider what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”