Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil^[a] of ^(A)the Sons of Korah; a love song.

Saul Chosen to Be King

9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was ^(A)Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. ² And he had a son whose name was Saul, ^(B)a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. ^(C)From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” ⁴ And he passed through ^(D)the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of ^(E)Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant^[a] who was with him, “Come, let us go back, ^(F)lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” ⁶ But he said to him, “Behold, there is ^(G)a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; ^(H)all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” ⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, ^(I)what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” ⁸ The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel^[b] of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” ⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man ^(J)went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today's “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) ¹⁰ And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, ^(K)they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” ¹² They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people ^(L)have a sacrifice today on ^(M)the high place. ¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” ¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, ^(N)the Lord had ^(O)revealed to Samuel: ¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, ^(P)and you shall anoint him to be prince^[c] over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. ^(Q)For I have seen^[d] my people, because their cry has come to me.” ¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ^(R)“Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” ¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” ¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. ^20 (S)As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?” ²¹ Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, ^(T)from the least of the tribes of Israel? ^(U)And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

²² Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. ²³ And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” ²⁴ So the cook took up ^(V)the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”^[e]

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. ²⁵ And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul ^(W)on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.^{[f] 26} Then at the break of dawn^[g] Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

²⁷ As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

The Collection for the Saints

16 Now concerning^{[a] (A)}the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ² On ^(B)the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, ^(C)as he may prosper, ^(D)so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³ And when I arrive, I will send ^(E)those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Plans for Travel

^5 (F)I will visit you after passing through ^(G)Macedonia, for ^(H)I intend to pass through Macedonia, ⁶ and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^(I)help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not want to see you now ^(J)just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, ^(K)if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will stay in Ephesus until ^(L)Pentecost, ⁹ for ^(M)a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and ^(N)there are many adversaries.

^10 (O)When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for ^(P)he is doing ^(Q)the work of the Lord, as I am. ¹¹ So ^(R)let no one despise him. ^(S)Help him on his way ^(T)in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Final Instructions

¹² Now concerning ^(U)our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will^[b] to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

^13 (V)Be watchful, ^(W)stand firm in the faith, ^(X)act like men, ^(Y)be strong. ^14 (Z)Let all that you do be done in love.

¹⁵ Now I urge you, brothers^[c]—you know that ^(AA)the household^[d] of Stephanas were ^(AB)the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves ^(AC)to the service of the saints— ^16 (AD)be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. ¹⁷ I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for ^(AE)your absence, ¹⁸ for they ^(AF)refreshed my spirit as well as yours. ^(AG)Give recognition to such people.

Greetings

¹⁹ The churches of Asia send you greetings. ^(AH)Aquila and Prisca, together with ^(AI)the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. ²⁰ All the brothers send you greetings. ^(AJ)Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ I, Paul, write ^(AK)this greeting with my own hand. ²² If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be ^(AL)accursed. Our Lord, come!^{[e] 23 (AM)}The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.