1 Samuel took a small jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. Then he kissed Saul and told him:
The Lord has chosen you to be the leader and ruler of his people. 2 When you leave me today, you'll meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They'll tell you, “The donkeys you've been looking for have been found. Your father has forgotten about them, and now he's worrying about you! He's wondering how he can find you.”
3 Go on from there until you reach the big oak tree at Tabor, where you'll meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats, another will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and the last one will be carrying a clay jar of wine. 4 After they greet you, they'll give you two loaves of bread.
5 Next, go to Gibeah, where the Philistines have an army camp. As you're going into the town, you'll meet a group of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They'll be going along prophesying while others are walking in front of them, playing small harps, small drums, and flutes.
6 The Spirit of the Lord will suddenly take control of you. You'll become a different person and start prophesying right along with them. 7 After these things happen, do whatever you think is right! God will help you.
8 Then go to Gilgal. I'll come a little later, so wait for me. It may even take a week for me to get there, but when I come, I'll offer sacrifices to please the Lord and to ask for his blessings. I'll also tell you what to do next.
Saul Goes Back Home
9 As Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God made Saul feel like a different person. That same day, everything happened just as Samuel had said. 10 When Saul arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. The Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, and right there in the middle of the group he began prophesying.
11 Some people who had known Saul for a long time saw that he was speaking and behaving like a prophet. They said to each other, “What's happened? How can Saul be a prophet?”
12 “Why not?” one of them answered. “Saul has as much right to be a prophet as anyone else!” That's why everyone started saying, “How can Saul be a prophet?”
13 After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the place of worship.
14 Later, Saul's uncle asked him, “Where have you been?”
Saul answered, “Looking for the donkeys. We couldn't find them, so we went to talk with Samuel.”
15 “And what did he tell you?” Saul's uncle asked.
16 Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had been found.” But Saul didn't mention that Samuel had chosen him to be king.
The Lord Shows Israel that Saul Will Be King
17 Samuel sent messengers to tell the Israelites to come to Mizpah and meet with the Lord. 18 When everyone had arrived, Samuel said:
The Lord God of Israel told me to remind you that he had rescued you from the Egyptians and from the other nations that abused you.
19 God has rescued you from your troubles and hard times. But you have rejected your God and have asked for a king. Now each tribe and clan must come near the place of worship so the Lord can choose a king.
20 Samuel brought each tribe, one after the other, to the altar, and the Lord chose the Benjamin tribe. 21 Next, Samuel brought each clan of Benjamin there, and the Lord chose the Matri clan. Finally, Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.
22 The people prayed, “Our Lord, is Saul here?”
“Yes,” the Lord answered, “he is hiding behind the baggage.”
23 The people ran and got Saul and brought him into the middle of the crowd. He was more than a head taller than anyone else. 24 “Look closely at the man the Lord has chosen!” Samuel told the crowd. “There is no one like him!”
The crowd shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained the rights and duties of a king and wrote them all in a book. He put the book in one of the shrines where the Lord was worshiped. Then Samuel sent everyone home.
26 God had encouraged some young men to become followers of Saul, and when he returned to his hometown of Gibeah, they went with him. 27 But some worthless fools said, “How can someone like Saul rescue us from our enemies?” They did not want Saul to be their king, and so they didn't bring him any gifts. But Saul kept calm.
1 فأخَذَ صَموئيلُ قارورَةَ الزَّيتِ وصَبَّها على رأسِ شاوُلَ وقبَّلَهُ وقالَ: «الرّبُّ مسَحَكَ رئيسا على شعبِهِ إِسرائيلَ. 2 فَبعدَ أنْ تُفارِقَني اليومَ يَستقبِلُكَ رَجُلانِ عِندَ قبرِ راحيلَ، في صَلصَحَ بأرضِ بنيامينَ، فيقولانِ لكَ: وُجِدَتِ الحميرُ الّتي خرَجتَ تَطلُبُها، وأبوكَ لم يَعُدْ يَهتَمُّ بِها، بل بِكَ ويقولُ: ما أصابَ إبني؟ 3 وحينَ تـتقدَّمُ مِنْ هُناكَ إلى بلُّوطَةِ تابورَ تُصادِفُ ثَلاثَةَ رِجالٍ صاعِدينَ إلى بَيتِ اللهِ في بَيتِ إيلِ، ومعَ أحدِهِم ثَلاثَةُ جِداءٍ، ومعَ الآخَرِ ثَلاثَةُ أرغِفةٍ مِنَ الخُبزِ، ومعَ الثَّالِثِ زِقُّ خمرٍ. 4 فيُسلِّمونَ علَيكَ ويُعطونَكَ رَغيفَينِ، فتأخُذُهُما مِنهُم. 5 ثُمَّ تَجيءُ إلى جَبعَةِ اللهِ، حيثُ مُعسكَرُ الفلِسطيِّينَ، فتُصادِفُ عِندَ دُخولِكَ المدينةَ جماعةً مِنَ الأنبِياءِ نازِلينَ مِنَ التَّلَّةِ، وقُدَّامَهُم رَبابٌ ودُفوفٌ ومَزاميرُ وكنَّاراتٌ وهُم يتَنبَّأونَ. 6 فيحِلُّ علَيكَ روحُ الرّبِّ، وتـتَنبَّأُ معَهُم وتَصيرُ رَجُلا آخَرَ. 7 فإذا تَمَّت لكَ هذِهِ الدَّلائِلُ، فافعَلْ ما في قُدرَتِكَ، لأنَّ اللهَ معَكَ. 8 وانزِلْ أمامي إلى الجِلجالِ، فأتبَعَكَ لأقدِّمَ مُحرقاتٍ وذبائِحَ سلامةٍ. فانتَظِرْ هُناكَ سَبعَةَ أيّامٍ حتّى أجيءَ وأُخبِرَكَ بِما تفعَلُ».
9 فلمَّا أدارَ شاوُلُ ظَهرَهُ لِـيَنصَرِفَ مِنْ عِندِ صَموئيلَ، بَدَّلَ اللهُ قلبَهُ، وتَمَّت لَه تِلكَ الدَّلائِلُ كُلُّها في ذلِكَ اليومِ، 10 ومِنها أنَّه حينَ جاءَ إلى جَبعةَ استَقبَلَهُ جماعةٌ مِنَ الأنبِياءِ، فحَلَّ علَيهِ روحُ اللهِ فتَنبَّأَ بَينَهُم. 11 فلمَّا رأى جميعُ الّذينَ عرَفوهُ أنَّهُ يَتَنبَّأُ معَ الأنبِياءِ، قالَ بَعضُهُم لِبَعضٍ: «ما جَرى لابنِ قَيسَ؟ أشاوُلُ أيضا مِنَ الأنبـياءِ؟» 12 فأجابَهُم رَجُلٌ: «ولكِنْ، هؤلاءِ الأنبِياءُ مَنْ أبوهُم؟» لِذلِكَ يقولُ المَثَلُ: «أشاوُلُ أيضا مِنَ الأنبـياءِ؟» 13 ولمَّا انتَهى شاوُلُ مِنَ التَنَبُّوءِ جاءَ إلى المذبحِ على التَّلَّةِ.
14 ورَآهُ عَمُّهُ، فقالَ لَه ولِخادِمِهِ: «أينَ ذَهبتُما؟» فقالا: «ذَهَبنا في طَلَبِ الحميرِ، فلمَّا لم نَجِدْها جِئْنا إلى صَموئيلَ». 15 فقالَ العَمُّ لهُما: «ما قالَ لكُما صَموئيلُ؟» 16 فأجابَهُ شاوُلُ: «أخبَرَنا أنَّ الحميرَ وُجِدَت». ولم يُخبِرْ عَمَّهُ بِما قالَ لَه صَموئيلُ وكيفَ مسَحهُ مَلِكا.
شاول ينادى به ملكا
17 ودَعا صَموئيلُ الشَّعبَ إلى الإجتِماعِ أمامَ الرّبِّ في المِصفاةِ 18 وقالَ لهُم: «هذا ما قالَ الرّبُّ إلهُ إِسرائيلَ: أنا الّذي أخرَجَكُم مِنْ مِصْرَ وأنقَذَكُم مِنْ أيدي المِصْريِّينَ، ومِنْ أيدي جميعِ المَمالِكِ الّتي ظَلَمَتكُم. 19 وأنتُمُ اليومَ رفَضتُم إلهَكُمُ الّذي خلَّصَكُم مِنْ جميعِ بَلاياكُم وضيقِكُم وقُلتُم لَه: أقِمْ علَينا مَلِكا. فتَقدَّموا الآنَ أمامَ الرّبِّ على حسَبِ أسباطِكُم وعشائِرِكُم».
20 ثُمَّ قدَّمَ صَموئيلُ جميعَ أسباطِ إِسرائيلَ، وألقى القُرعَةَ فأصابَت سِبْطَ بنيامينَ. 21 قَدَّمَ سِبْطَ بنيامينَ بِــعشائِرِها، فأصابَتِ القُرعةُ عَشيرَةَ مَطْري. وقدَّمَ عَشيرَةَ مَطْري بِرِجالِها، فأصابَتِ القُرعةُ شاوُلَ بنَ قَيسَ. فبحَثوا عَنهُ فلم يَجدوهُ. 22 فسألوا الرّبَّ أيضا: «هل يَجيءُ شاوُلُ إلى هُنا؟» فقالَ الرّبُّ: «هَا هوَ مُختَبِـئٌ بَينَ الأمتِعةِ». 23 فأسرَعوا وأخَذوهُ مِنْ هُناكَ، فلمَّا وقَفَ بَينَ الشَّعبِ زادَهُم طُولا مِنْ كَتِفِهِ فما فَوقُ. 24 فقالَ لهُم صَموئيلُ: «أرأيتُم أنَّ الّذي اختارَهُ الرّبُّ لا مَثيلَ لَه فيكُم جميعا؟» فهَتَفوا كُلُّهُم وقالوا: «يَحيَ المَلِكُ».
25 فأخبَرَ صَموئيلُ الشَّعبَ بِـحُقوقِ المَلكِ، ودوَّنَها في كتابٍ وضَعَهُ أمامَ الرّبِّ. ثُمَّ صرَفَ الجميعَ، كُلَّ واحدٍ إلى مَنزِلِه. 26 وكذلِكَ رجَعَ شاوُلُ إلى بَيتِهِ في جَبعَةَ، ومعَهُ رِجالٌ أشِدَّاءُ ألهَمَ اللهُ قلوبَهُم. 27 وأمَّا رُعاعُ القَومِ فقالوا: «كيفَ يُخَلِّصُنا هذا الرَّجُلُ؟» واحتَقَروهُ ولم يُقَدِّموا إليهِ الهَدايا.
