1Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over His inheritance? 2When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulcher 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 the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3Then shalt thou go on forward from there {thence}, and thou shalt come to the oak {plain} of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin {bottle} of wine: 4And they will greet {salute} thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 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 there {thither} to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a flute {pipe}, and a harp before them; and they shall prophesy: 6And the Spirit of the LORD will come 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 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 to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.

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 there {thither} to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11And it came to pass, when all that knew him previously {beforetime} saw that, behold, he prophesied among 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, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

13And when he had ceased {made an end of} prophesying, he came to the high place. 14And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Where {Whither} went ye? And he said, To seek the asses; and when we saw that they were no where, 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 of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not.

17And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpah, 18And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you; 19And ye have this day rejected your God, Who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto Him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now, therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. 20And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken; and Saul, the son of Kish, was taken; but {and} when they sought him, he could not be found. 22Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come there {thither}. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage {stuff}. 23And they ran and fetched him from there {thence}; and when he stood among the people, he was taller {higher} than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 25Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 27But certain worthless fellows {the children of Belial} said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.