1 Samuel 9

And there was a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name was Kis, son of Abiel, son of Sared, son of Bachir, son of Aphek, son of a Jeminite man; a mighty man.

And he had a son, and his name was Saul, of great stature, a goodly man; and there was not among the sons of Israel a man goodlier than he: from his shoulder and upward he was taller than all the land.

And the donkeys of Kis, Saul's father, were lost. And Kis said to Saul his son, Take with you one of the servants, and arise, go and seek the donkeys.

And they passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and they passed through the land of Selcha, and did not find them; and they passed through the land of Easakem, and they were not there; and they passed through the land of Jakim, and did not find them.

When they had come to Siph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, let us return, lest my father leave off caring about the donkeys and be anxious about us.

And the servant said to him, Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honour; everything that he may say shall surely come to pass. And now let us go, that he may tell us our way on which we have gone.

And Saul said to his servant who was with him, And behold, we will go; but what shall we bring to the man of God? For the loaves have run out from our vessels, and there is nothing more with us to bring to the man of God of what we have.

And the servant answered Saul again and said, Behold, there is found in my hand a quarter of a shekel of silver; and you shall give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way.

And formerly in Israel each one would say this when he went to inquire of God: Come, let us go to the seer; for the one whom the people now call the prophet was formerly called the seer.

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

As they were going up the ascent of the city, they themselves find young girls who had come out to draw water, and they say to them, Is the seer here?

And the girls answered them and say to them, He is; behold, he is right before you. He has come to the city just now because of the day, for there is a sacrifice today for the people at Bama.

As soon as you enter the city, so you will find him in the city before he goes up to Bama to eat; for the people will not eat until he comes in, because he blesses the sacrifice, and after that the strangers eat. And now go up, for because of the day you will find him.

And they go up to the city. As they were entering into the midst of the city, behold, Samuel came out to meet them, to go up to Bama.

And the Lord had uncovered the ear of Samuel one day before Saul came to him, saying,

About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler over my people Israel, and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon the affliction of my people, for their cry has come to me.

And Samuel saw Saul, and the Lord answered him, Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you; this one shall rule among my people.

And Saul drew near to Samuel in the midst of the city and said, Tell me, please, which is the house of the seer?

And Samuel answered Saul and said, I am he. Go up before me to Bama, and eat with me today, and I will send you away in the morning, and I will tell you all that is in your heart.

And as for your donkeys that have been lost three days as of today, do not set your heart on them, for they have been found. And to whom belong the desirable things of Israel? Are they not yours and your father's house's?

And Saul answered and said, Am I not a son of a Jeminite man, of the smallest sceptre of the tribe of Israel? And is not my family the least of the whole sceptre of Benjamin? And why have you spoken to me according to this word?

And Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the lodging place, and he gave them a place among the first of those who had been invited, about seventy men.

And Samuel said to the cook, Give me the portion which I gave you, which I told you to put by you.

And the cook lifted up the leg and set it before Saul; and Samuel said to Saul, Behold what is left over; set it before you and eat, for it has been laid up for you as a testimony above the others; break off a piece. And Saul ate with Samuel on that day.

And he came down from Bama into the city, and they spread a bed for Saul on the housetop.

And he slept. And it came to pass, as the dawn was coming up, that Samuel called Saul on the housetop, saying, Arise, and I will send you away. And Saul arose, and he and Samuel went out together as far as outside.

As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the young man to pass on before us; and you stand still as this day, and hear the word of God.