Development of Monarchy

8 When Samuel grew old he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 The eldest was called Joel, and his second was called Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 However his sons did not follow his ways, but turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel assembled and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and they said to him, ‘You have become old and your sons don’t follow your ways. Appoint for us a king to rule us like all the other nations.’ 6 But the statement displeased Samuel, when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people and all that they say to you. For they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds which they have done to me since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other gods, so also are they doing to you. 9 Listen to what they have to say, but solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who will reign over them.’

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him to appoint a king. 11 He said, ‘This will be the way of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and cavalry. They will run before his chariots, 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and to be cooks and to be bakers. 14 Of your fields and your vineyards and your oliveyards, he will take the best and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain fields and of your vineyards and give to his eunuchs and to his servants. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and your donkeys, and use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you will become his slaves. 18 Then you will cry out in that day against your king whom you chose for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.’ 19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and said, ‘No, we must have a king over us, 20 so that we will like all other the nations, and so that our king can rule us and go out before us and fight our battles.’ 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people and repeated them to the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and make them a king.’ And Samuel said to the people of Israel, ‘Each of your return to your city.’

9 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a man of wealth. 2 He had a son whose name was Saul, a man in the prime of life and handsome. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was. He was a head taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had strayed. Kish said to Saul his son, ‘Take one of the servants with you and go out and find the donkeys.’ 4 They passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and the land of Shalishah, but did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. They passed through the land of the Benjamites but did not find them.

5 When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, ‘Come, let us return, or my father will stop thinking of the donkeys and become anxious for us.’ 6 But the servant answered, ‘There is in this city a man of God, and the man is held in honour. All that he says is sure to come true. Let us go there now, and perhaps he can give us information about the mission on which we are going.’ 7 Saul said to the boy, ‘But, suppose we go, what should we take to the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks, and there is no present to take to the man of God. What do we have?’ 8 The servant answered Saul again, ‘See I have with me a quarter shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God so that he may give us information regarding our mission.’ 9 (Formerly in Israel, when someone went to inquire of God, they said, ‘Come let us go to the seer;’ because what is nowadays called a prophet was previously called a seer). 10 Then Saul said to his servant, ‘Your advice is good. Come, let us go.’ So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11 As they were going up the ascent to the city, they met some young girls going out to draw water and said to them, ‘Is the seer here?’ 12 They answered, ‘Yes, he is there ahead of you. Hurry, he has come today to the city because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. 13 As soon as you come to the city, you will at once find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he is needed to bless the sacrifice before the guests eat. Now go up, and at this time you will meet him.’ 14 So they went up to the city. When they came within the city gate, Samuel was just coming out toward them, to go up to the high place.

15 Now the Lord had given to Samuel, a day before Saul came, the following revelation: 16 ‘At this time tomorrow I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin and you must anoint him to be a prince over my people Israel. He will save my people out of the hand of the Philistines, because I have seen the suffering of my people, and their cry has reached me.’ 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord indicated to him, ‘This is the man of whom I spoke to you! He is the one who will rule over my people.’ 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, ‘Tell me, please, where the seer’s house is.’ 19 And Samuel answered Saul, ‘I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you will eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not trouble yourself about them. They have been found. To whom does all that is desirable in Israel belong? Does it not belong to you, and to your ancestral house? 21 Saul answered, ‘But I am a Benjamite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin! Why do you speak like this to me?’

22 Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and made them sit at the head of the guests (who were about thirty persons). 23 And he said to the cook, ‘Bring the portion I gave you, which I told you to put aside.’ 24 The cook took up the leg and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, ‘See, the meat is served! Eat! It was kept for you until the appointed time, so that you might eat with those whom I have invited.’

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 After they came down from the high place into the city, they spread a bed for Saul on the roof, and he lay down for the night. 26 At daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, ‘Get up, so that I can send you on your way.’ So Saul arose, and he and Samuel went out into the street.

27 As they were going down at the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell your servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay here so that I can make known to you the word of God.’

10 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said, ‘The Lord has anointed you to be a ruler over his people Israel. You will reign over the people of the Lord and save them from the power of their enemies all around. This will be the sign that the Lord has anointed you to be a ruler over his heritage: 2 when you go from me today you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb, in the boundary of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will say to you, “The donkeys you went to seek are found, and now your father has dismissed the matter of the donkeys and is anxious for you, asking, ‘What should I do about my son?’ ” 3 Then you will go on from there and come to the oak of Tabor. There three men going up to God to Bethel will meet you, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread which you will take from their hand. 5 After that you will come to Gibeah-elohim, where the garrison of the Philistines is. When you come to the city, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lyre, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man. 7 When these signs come to you, you will do as the occasion offers, for God is with you. 8 You must go down before me to Gilgal, and then I will come down to you, to offer burnt offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what to do.’

9 As Saul turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him a change of heart, and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 On his way to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him, and the spirit of God possessed him, and he prophesied among them. 11 When everyone who knew him saw him in the act of prophesying with the prophets, the people said to one another, ‘What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?’ 12 One of the bystanders answered, ‘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 said to him and to his servant, ‘Where did you go?’ He said, ‘To find the donkeys, and when we saw that they were not found, we went to Samuel.’ 15 And Saul’s uncle said, ‘Tell me what Samuel said to you.’ 16 And Saul said to his uncle, ‘He told us that the donkeys were found.’ But about the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken, he told him nothing.

17 Samuel called the people together to Mizpah, 18 and said to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Lord the God of Israel says: 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 were oppressing you. 19 But today you rejected your God, who has been saving you from all your calamities and your distresses. You have said to him, “No! You must set a king over us.” Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’

20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was picked by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their clans, and the clan of the Matrites was picked by lot. He brought near the clan of Matri man by man and Saul the son of Kish was picked, but when they searched for him, him he could not be found. 22 So they asked of the Lord further, ‘Did the man come here?’ And the Lord answered ‘See, he has hid himself among the baggage.’ 23 Someone ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people by a head. 24 Said Samuel to the people, ‘Have you seen this man whom the Lord has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people.’ All the people shouted loudly, ‘Long live the king!’

25 In this way Samuel revealed to the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to their home. 26 And Saul also went to his home at Gibeah; and with him went the warriors whose hearts God had touched. 27 But there were some scoundrels who said, ‘How can this man save us?’ They despised him, and brought him no presents.