⁶ Then ^(A)the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and ^(B)you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. ⁷ And let it be, when these ^(C)signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for ^(D)God is with you. ⁸ You shall go down before me ^(E)to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. ^(F)Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”

⁹ So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God ^[a]gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. ^10 (G)When they came there to the hill, there was ^(H)a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. ¹¹ And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? ^(I)Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹² Then a man from there answered and said, “But ^(J)who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” ¹³ And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

Saul Proclaimed King

¹⁷ Then Samuel called the people together ^(A)to the Lord ^(B)at Mizpah, ¹⁸ and said to the children of Israel, ^(C)“Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ ^19 (D)But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your ^[a]clans.”

²⁰ And when Samuel had ^(E)caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹ When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²² Therefore they ^(F)inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”

²³ So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, ^(G)he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. ²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him ^(H)whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?”

So all the people shouted and said, ^(I)“Long^[b] live the king!”

^6 (A)Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. ⁷ So he took a yoke of oxen and ^(B)cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, ^(C)“Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.”

And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out ^[a]with one consent.

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go ^(A)to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(B)before the Lord in Gilgal. ^(C)There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.