7. Saul said to his young boy, "But if we go, what should we bring to the man? The food in our bags is all gone. We don’t have any gift to offer the man of God. Do we have anything?"
8. "Here," the boy answered Saul, "I’ve got a quarter-shekel of silver. I’ll give that to the man of God so he tells us which way to go." (
9. Earlier in Israel, someone going to consult with God would say, "Let’s go to the seer," because the people who are called prophets today were previously called seers.)
10. Saul said to the boy, "Great idea! Let’s go." So they went into the town where the man of God lived.
11. They were going up the hill to the town when they met some young women coming out to draw water. "Is the seer here?" they asked them.
12. "He’s just ahead of you," they answered. "Hurry up! He has just come to town because there is a sacrifice today for the people at the shrine.
13. You’ll find him as soon as you enter the town, before he goes up to the shrine to eat. The people won’t eat until he gets there, because he must bless the sacrifice. Only after that can the invited guests eat. Now get going because you’ll find him momentarily."
14. So Saul and the boy went up to the town, and as they entered it, suddenly Samuel came toward them on his way up to the shrine.
15. Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed the following to Samuel:
16. "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the Benjaminite territory. You will anoint him as leader of my people Israel. He will save my people from the Philistines’ power because I have seen the suffering of my people, and their cry for help has reached me."
17. When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, "That’s the man I told you about. That’s the one who will rule my people."
18. Saul approached Samuel in the city gate and said, "Please tell me where the seer’s house is."
19. "I’m the seer," Samuel told Saul. "Go on ahead of me to the shrine. You can eat with me today. In the morning I’ll send you on your way, and I will tell you everything you want to know.
20. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, don’t be worried about them because they’ve been found. Who owns all of Israel’s treasures, anyway? Isn’t it you and your whole family?"