1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord ^wanointed you to be prince¹ over his 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 ^xheritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by ^yRachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and ^znow your 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 oak of Tabor. Three men going up to 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 Gibeath-elohim,³ where there is a ^agarrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place ^bwith harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will ^crush upon you, ^dand you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. ^eSeven 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 Gibeah,⁴ behold, a group of prophets met him, and 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? ^fIs Saul also among the prophets?”