Then the men of Kerjath-Jerim came and took the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord So it was that the ark remained in Kerjath-Jerim a long time it was there twenty years and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel saying If you return to the Lord with all your hearts then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you and prepare your hearts for the Lord and serve him only and he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths and serve the Lord only And Samuel said Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water and poured it out before the Lord And they fasted that day and said there We have sinned against the Lord And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel And when the children of Israel heard of it they were afraid of the Philistines So the children of Israel said to Samuel Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel And the Lord answered him Now when Samuel was offering up the burnt offering the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and drove them back as far as below Beth-kar Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shin and called its name Ebenezer saying Thus far the Lord has helped us So the Philistines were subdued and they did not come any more into the territory of Israel And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel from Ekron to Gath And Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and judged Israel in all those places But he always returned to Ramah for his home was there There he judged Israel And there he built an altar to the Lord Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of the second Abijah They were judges in Beersheba But his sons did not walk in his ways They turned aside after dishonest gain took bribes and preferred justice Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to them Look, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations But the thing displeased Samuel when they said Give us a king to judge us So Samuel prayed to the Lord And the Lord said to Samuel Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you For they have not rejected you but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day with which they have forsaken me and served other gods So they are doing to you also Now therefore heed their voice However you shall solemnly forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king And he said This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen And some will run before his chariots of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves and give them to his servants He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage and give it to his officers and servants And he will take your male servants, your female servants your finest young men and your donkeys and put them to his work He will take a tenth of your sheep and you will be his servants And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves And the Lord will not hear you in that day Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel And they said No, but we will have a king over us that we also may be like all nations and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles And Samuel heard all the words of the people and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord So the Lord said to Samuel Heed their voice and make them a king And Samuel said to the men of Israel Every man go to his city There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel the son of Zeror the son of Bekorath the son of Aphiah of Benjamite a mighty man of power And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people Now the donkeys of Kish Saul's father were lost And Kish said to his son Saul Please take one of the servants with you and arise Go and look for the donkeys So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and to the land of Shalisha But they did not find them Then they passed through the land of Shalim and they were not there Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites but they did not find them When they had come to the land of Zuth Saul said to his servant who was with him Come let us return lest my father cease carrying about the donkeys and become worried about us And he said to him Look now There is in this city a man of God and he is an honorable man All that he says surely comes to pass So let us go there Perhaps he can show us the way that we should go Then Saul said to his servant But look if we go What shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone and there is no present to bring to the man of God What do we have? And the servant answered Saul again and said Look I have here at hand Come let us go So they went to the city where the man of God was As they went up the hill to the city they met some young women going out to draw water and said to them Is the seer here? And they answered them and said Yes there he is just ahead of you Hurry now for today he came to the city because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place As soon as you come into the city you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat But the people will not eat until he comes because he must bless the sacrifice Afterward those who are invited will eat Now therefore go up for about this time you will find him So they went up to the city As they were coming into the city there was Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came saying Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin and you shall anoint him commander over my people Israel that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines For I have looked upon my people because their cry has come to me So when Samuel saw Saul the Lord said to him There he is the man of whom I spoke to you This one shall reign over my people Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate and said Please tell me Where is the seer's house?
Samuel answered Saul and said I am the seer Go up before me to the high place for you shall eat with me today and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago do not be anxious about them for they have been found And on whom is all the desire of Israel Is it not on you and on all your father's house? And Saul answered and said Am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribe of Israel and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin Why then do you speak like this to me? Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited There were about thirty persons And Samuel said to the cook Bring the portion which I give you of which I said to you set it apart So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul And Samuel said Here it is what was kept back It was set apart for you Eat For until this time it has been kept for you since I said I invited the people So Saul ate with Samuel that day When they had come down from the high place into the city Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house They rose early and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house saying Get up that I may send you on your way And Saul rose and both of them went outside he and Samuel And as they were going down to the outskirts of the city Samuel said to Saul Tell the servant to go on ahead of us And he went on But you stand here a while that I may announce to you the word of God