1   There was a man from the district of Benjamin, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah a Benjamite. 2   He was a man of substance, and had a son named Saul, a young man in his prime; there was no better man among the Israelites than he. He was a head taller than any of his fellows.

3   One day some asses belonging to Saul's father Kish had strayed, so he said to his son Saul, ‘Take one of the servants with you, and go and look for the asses.’ 4   They crossed the hill-country of Ephraim and went through the district of Shalisha but did not find them; they passed through the district of Shaalim but they were not there; they passed through the district of Benjamin but again did not find them. 5   When they had entered the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant with him, ‘Come, we ought to turn back, or my father will stop thinking about the asses and begin to worry about us.’ 6   The servant answered, ‘There is a man of God in the city here, who has a great reputation, because everything he says comes true. Suppose we go there; he may tell us something about this errand of ours.’ 7   Saul said, ‘If we do go, what shall we offer him? There is no food left in our packs and we have no present for the man of God, nothing at all.’ 8   The servant answered him again, ‘Wait! I have here a quarter-shekel of silver. I can give that to the man, to tell us what we should do.’ 10    ^noteSaul said, ‘Good! let us go to him.’ 9   So they went to the city where the man of God was. (In days

Saul anointed king gone by in Israel, when a man wished to consult God, he would say, ‘Let us go to the seer.’ For what is nowadays called a prophet used to be called a seer.) 11   As they were going up the hill to the city they met some girls coming out to draw water and asked, ‘Shall we find the seer there?’ 12   ‘Yes,’ they said, ‘the seer is ahead of you now; he has just ^note arrived in the city because there is a feast at the hill-shrine today. 13   As you enter the city you will meet him before he goes up to the shrine to eat; the people will not start until he comes, for he has to bless the sacrifice before the company can eat. Go up now, and you will find him at once.’ 14   So they went up to the city, and just as they were going in, there was Samuel coming towards them on his way up to the shrine.

15   Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had disclosed his intention to Samuel in these words: 16   ‘At this same time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him prince over my people Israel, and then he shall deliver my people from the Philistines. I have seen the sufferings of ^note my people and their cry has reached my ears.’ 17   The moment Saul appeared the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. 18   This man shall rule my people.’ Saul came up to Samuel in the gateway and said, ‘Would you tell me where the seer lives?’ 19   Samuel replied, ‘I am the seer. Go on ahead of me to the hill-shrine and you shall eat with me today; in the morning I will set you on your way, after telling you what you have on your mind. 20   Trouble yourself no more about the asses lost three days ago, for they have been found. But what is it that all Israel is wanting? It is you and your ancestral house.’ 21   ‘But I am a Benjamite,’ said Saul, ‘from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. 22   Why do you say this to me?’ Samuel then brought Saul and his servant into the dining-hall and gave them a place at the head of the company, which numbered about thirty. 23   Then he said to the cook, ‘Bring the portion that I gave you and told you to put on one side.’ 24   So the cook took up the whole haunch and leg and put it before Saul; and Samuel said, ‘Here is the portion of meat ^note kept for you. Eat it: it has been reserved for you at this feast to which ^note I have invited the people.’ 25   So Saul dined with Samuel that day, and when they came down from the hill-shrine to the city a bed was spread on the roof for Saul, and he ^note stayed there that night. 26   At dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, ‘Get up, and I will set you on your way.’ When Saul rose, he and Samuel went out together into the street. 27   As they came to the end of the town, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the boy to go on.’ He

Saul anointed king did so, and then Samuel said, ‘Stay here a moment, and I will tell you the word of God.’

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