1 Samuel 9

¹There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a mighty man of valor.

²And he had a son, and his name was Saul, a young man and handsome; and there was no man among the sons of Israel more handsome than he — from his shoulders and upward he was taller than all the people.

³And the female donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, 'Take with you please one of the servants, and arise, go search for the female donkeys.'

⁴And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there were none. And he passed through the land of Benjamin, and they did not find them.

⁵When they came into the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, 'Come, let us return, lest my father stop thinking about the female donkeys and instead be anxious for us.'

⁶And he said to him, "Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and the man is held in honor; everything he says will certainly come to pass. Now let us go there; perhaps he will tell us the way we should go."

⁷And Saul said to his servant, 'But look, if we go, what shall we bring to the man? For the bread is gone from our bags, and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?'

⁸And the young man answered Saul again and said, "Look, I have in my hand a quarter of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way."

⁹Formerly in Israel, thus said a man when he went to inquire of God, 'Come, let us go to the seer,' for the one who is today called a prophet was formerly called a seer.

¹⁰Then Saul said to his servant, 'Your word is good; come, let us go.' And they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹As they were going up the ascent of the city, they found young women coming out to draw water, and they said to them, "Is the seer here?"

¹²They answered them and said, 'He is; look, he is right ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come today to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today at the high place.'

¹³As 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 until he arrives, because he blesses the sacrifice — after that, the invited guests eat. Go up now, for you will find him at this time.'

¹⁴And they went up into the city; as they were coming into the midst of the city, there was Samuel coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

¹⁵Now the LORD had uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before Saul's coming, saying,

¹⁶About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as leader over my people Israel, and he will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, for their cry of distress has come to me.

¹⁷When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD spoke to him, 'Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. This one will govern my people.'

¹⁸And Saul approached Samuel in the midst of the gateway and said, "Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?"

¹⁹And Samuel answered Saul and said, 'I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, and you shall eat with me today, and I will send you in the morning, and all that is in your heart I will tell you.'

²⁰Now as for the donkeys that were lost to you three days ago, do not set your heart on them, for they have been found. And to whom does all the desire of Israel belong? Is it not to you and to all the house of your father?

²¹And Saul answered and said, "Am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my clan is the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then do you speak to me according to this word?"

²²And Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the chamber and gave them a place at the head of the invited guests, and they were about thirty men.

²³And Samuel said to the cook, 'Bring the portion that I gave you, of which I said to you, Set it with you.'

²⁴So the cook lifted up the thigh and what was upon it and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, "Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, for it has been kept for you for the appointed time, since I said to the people, 'I have invited them.'" So Saul ate with Samuel on that day.

²⁵And they came down from the high place to the city, and he spoke with Saul on the roof.

²⁶And they rose early; and at the going up of the dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, "Arise, so that I may send you on your way." And Saul arose, and they both went out, he and Samuel, outside.

²⁷They were going down at the edge of the city, and Samuel said to Saul, 'Tell the servant to pass on ahead of us.' And he passed on. 'Now stand, and I will make you hear the word of God.'