Samuel said to the cook, “Give me the portion of meat that I gave to you – the one I asked you to keep with you.”

Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s ¹  head. Samuel ²  kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you ³  to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen ⁴  you as leader over his inheritance. ⁵ 

As Saul ¹  turned ²  to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. ³  All these signs happened on that very day.

Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Saul ¹  replied, “To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, ²  we went to Samuel.”

Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done ¹  everything you requested. ²  I have given you a king. ³ 

Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors ¹  up from the land of Egypt.

So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, ¹  Barak, ²  Jephthah, and Samuel, ³  and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.

Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal ¹  to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. ²  Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men.

Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. ¹ 

When Samuel came to him, ¹  Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute! ¹  Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul ²  said to him, “Tell me.”

Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose ¹  you as king over Israel.

Then Samuel said, “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? ¹  Certainly, ²  obedience ³  is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than ⁴  the fat of rams.

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ¹  and what you said as well. ²  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ³ 

Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you!

Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, ¹  thinking to himself, ²  “Surely death is bitter!” ³ 

Samuel replied, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you ¹  and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’

Samuel did what the Lord told him. ¹  When he arrived in Bethlehem, ²  the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They ³  said, “Do you come in peace?”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. ¹  But Samuel ²  said, “The Lord has not chosen this one, either.”