1 Samuel 9:1-20

Saul Chosen to Be King

1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was f 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, g a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. h 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 i the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of j 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 1 who was with him, "Come, let us go back, k lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us." 6 But he said to him, "Behold, there is l a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; m 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, n 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 2 of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way." 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man o 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, p 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 q have a sacrifice today on r 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, s the Lord had t revealed to Samuel: 16 "Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, u and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. v For I have seen 3 my people, because their cry has come to me." 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, w "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 x 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?"

  1. Cross References
    1 Samuel 14:51
    Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
    1 Chronicles 8:33
    Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal.
    1 Chronicles 9:39
    Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.
  2. Cross References
    1 Samuel 8:16
    He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
  3. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:23
    Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
  4. Cross References
    Joshua 24:33
    And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of Phinehas his son, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim.
  5. Cross References
    2 Kings 4:42
    A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, "Give to the men, that they may eat.
  6. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:2
    When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, 'The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, "What shall I do about my son?"
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 33:1
    This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death.
    Judges 13:6
    Then the woman came and told her husband, "A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name.
    1 Kings 13:1
    And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings.
  8. Cross References
    1 Samuel 3:19
    And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
  9. Cross References
    1 Kings 14:3
    Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.
    2 Kings 4:42
    A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, "Give to the men, that they may eat.
    2 Kings 8:8
    The king said to Hazael, "Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord through him, saying, 'Shall I recover from this sickness?'
  10. Cross References
    Genesis 25:22
    The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the Lord.
  11. Cross References
    Genesis 24:11
    And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening, the time when women go out to draw water.
  12. Cross References
    1 Samuel 16:2
    And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
    1 Samuel 20:29
    He said, 'Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table.
    Genesis 31:54
    And Jacob offered a sacrifice in the hill country and called his kinsmen to eat bread. They ate bread and spent the night in the hill country.
  13. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:5
    After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.
    1 Kings 3:2 - 4
    The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the Lord.
  14. Cross References
    1 Samuel 15:1
    And Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.
    Acts 13:21
    Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
  15. Cross References
    Ruth 4:4
    So I thought I would tell you of it and say, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you." And he said, "I will redeem it.
  16. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:1
    Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
  17. Cross References
    Exodus 2:25
    God saw the people of Israel - and God knew.
    Exodus 3:7
    Then the Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings.
    Exodus 3:9
    And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.
  18. Cross References
    1 Samuel 16:12
    And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he.
  19. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:3
    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.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.