1And Samuel took the flask of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said: "Is it not that YHWH has anointed you as leader over His inheritance?
2When you go from me today, then you shall find two men (ish) by the tomb of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you: The donkeys which you went to seek are found; and behold, your father has left off the matters of the donkeys, and is anxious for you, saying: What shall I do for my son?
3And you shall pass on from there and beyond, and shall come to the oak of Tabor; and there three men (ish) will find you going up to God at Bethel, one carrying three kids, and one carrying three loaves of bread, and one carrying a skin of wine.
4And they will ask you of your peace, and give you two loaves of bread, and you shall take from their hand.
5After that you shall come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will come to pass, when you come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them a harp and a timbrel and a flute and a lyre, and they will be prophesying.
6And the spirit (ruach) of YHWH will rush upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man (ish).
7And it will be, when these signs (ot) come to you, do for yourself what your hand finds, for God is with you.
8And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I am coming down to you, to offer up burnt offerings, to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings; seven days you shall wait, until I come to you, and I will make known to you what you shall do.
9And it was, when he turned his shoulder to go from Samuel, that God turned for him another heart; and all those signs (ot) came to pass on that day.
10And they came there to the hill; and behold, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit (ruach) of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied in their midst.
11And it came to pass, all who knew him from before, from yesterday and the day before, saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets; and the people said, a man (ish) to his neighbor: "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
12And a man (ish) from there answered and said: "And who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
13And he finished prophesying, and came to the high place.
14And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant: "Where did you go?" And he said: "To seek the donkeys; and we saw that there were none, and we came to Samuel."
15And Saul's uncle said: "Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you."
16And Saul said to his uncle: "He surely told us that the donkeys were found." But the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him.
17And Samuel called the people together to YHWH at Mizpah.
18And he said to the sons of Israel: "Thus says YHWH, the God of Israel: I brought up Israel from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.
19But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saves (yasha) you from all your evils and your distresses; and you have said to Him: No, but set a king over us. And now, present yourselves before YHWH by your tribes and by your thousands."
20And Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
21And he brought near the tribe of Benjamin by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken; and they sought him, but he was not found.
22And they inquired again of YHWH: "Has the man (ish) yet come here?" And YHWH said: "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
23And they ran and took him from there; and he stood in the midst of the people, and he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and upward.
24And Samuel said to all the people: "Do you see whom YHWH has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" And all the people shouted and said: "Let the king live!"
25And Samuel spoke to the people the manner (mishpat) of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it before YHWH. And Samuel sent all the people away, each man (ish) to his house.
26And Saul also went to his house, to Gibeah; and the valiant men went with him, those whose heart God had touched.
27But sons of worthlessness said: "How will this one save (yasha) us?" And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he was like one keeping silent.