1 Samuel 5

The Philistines and the Ark

1When the Philistines captured the ark of God, they brought it from aEbenezer to bAshdod. 2Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside cDagon. 3And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, dDagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord, eand the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him. 5This is why the priests of Dagon and all who enter the house of Dagon fdo not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day.

6 gThe hand of the Lord was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with htumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7And when the men of Ashdod saw how things were, they said, “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” 8So they sent and gathered together all ithe lords of the Philistines and said, “What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They answered, “Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.” So they brought the ark of the God of Israel there. 9But after they had brought it around, jthe hand of the Lord was against the city, causing a very great panic, and he afflicted the men of the city, both young and old, so that ktumors broke out on them. 10So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But as soon as the ark of God came to Ekron, the people of Ekron cried out, “They have brought around to us the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people.” 11 lThey sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. mThe hand of God was very heavy there. 12The men who did not die were struck with ntumors, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

1 Samuel 10

Saul Anointed King

1 oThen Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head pand kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince
Or leader
over rhis 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
Septuagint; Hebrew lacks  over his people Israel? And you shall. . . . to be prince
over his heritage.
2When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by tRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, u‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now vyour father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the woak of Tabor. Three men xgoing up yto God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5After that you shall come to zGibeath-elohim,
 Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God
abwhere 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 acfrom the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.
6 adThen the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, aeand you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7Now when afthese signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, agfor God is with you. 8Then go down before me ahto Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and aito sacrifice peace offerings. ajSeven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

9When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10When they came to akGibeah,
 Gibeah means the hill
behold, a group of prophets met him, amand the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
11And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? anIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12And a man of the place answered, ao“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, ap“Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 aqSaul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, ar“To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16And Saul said to his uncle, as“He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

Saul Proclaimed King

17Now Samuel called the people together atto the Lord auat Mizpah. 18And he said to the people of Israel, avThus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 awBut today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore axpresent yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”

20Then Samuel aybrought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;
Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man
and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.
22 baSo they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, bbhe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him bcwhom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, bd“Long live the king!”

25Then Samuel told the people bethe rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26Saul also went to his home bfat Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27But some bgworthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

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