Saul Anointed King
1 cThen Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head dand kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince1 over ehis 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 prince2 over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by fRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, g‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now hyour father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the ioak of Tabor. Three men jgoing up kto 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. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to lGibeath-elohim,3 mwhere 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 nfrom the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 oThen the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, pand you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when qthese signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, rfor God is with you. 8 Then go down before me sto Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and tto sacrifice peace offerings. uSeven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to vGibeah,4 behold, a group of prophets met him, oand the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And 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? wIs Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, x“And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, w“Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 ySaul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, z“To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, a“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
17 Now Samuel called the people together bto the Lord cat Mizpah. 18 And he said to the people of Israel, d“Thus 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 eBut 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 fpresent yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20 Then Samuel gbrought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot;5 and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 hSo 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.” 23 Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, ihe was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him jwhom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, k“Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people lthe 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. 26 Saul also went to his home mat Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some nworthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer
1 When the Lamb opened uthe seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels vwho stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood wat the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with xthe prayers of all the saints on ythe golden altar before the throne, 4 and zthe smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and afilled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and bthere were peals of cthunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
The Seven Trumpets
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed dhail and efire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a fthird of the earth was burned up, and a third of gthe trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ha great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ibecame blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of jthe ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and ka great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on lthe springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood.2 A third of the waters mbecame wormwood, and many people died from the water, nbecause it had been made bitter.
12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of othe sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, p“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
