1. Samuel took a small jar of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. Then he kissed Saul and told him:The Lord has chosen you to be the leader and ruler of his people.
2. When you leave me today, you'll meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They'll tell you, “The donkeys you've been looking for have been found. Your father has forgotten about them, and now he's worrying about you! He's wondering how he can find you.”
3. Go on from there until you reach the big oak tree at Tabor, where you'll meet three men on their way to worship God at Bethel. One of them will be leading three young goats, another will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and the last one will be carrying a clay jar of wine.
4. After they greet you, they'll give you two loaves of bread.
5. Next, go to Gibeah, where the Philistines have an army camp. As you're going into the town, you'll meet a group of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They'll be going along prophesying while others are walking in front of them, playing small harps, small drums, and flutes.
6. The Spirit of the Lord will suddenly take control of you. You'll become a different person and start prophesying along with them.
7. After these things happen, do whatever you think is right! God will help you.
8. Then you should go to Gilgal. I'll come a little later, so wait for me. It may even take a week for me to get there, but when I come, I'll offer sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. I'll also tell you what to do next.
9. As Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God made Saul feel like a different person. That same day, everything happened just as Samuel had said.
10. When Saul arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. The Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, and there in the middle of the group he began prophesying.
11. Some people who had known Saul for a long time saw that he was speaking and behaving like a prophet. They said to each other, “What's happened? How can Saul be a prophet?”
12. “Why not?” one of them answered. “Saul has as much right to be a prophet as anyone else!” That's why everyone started saying, “How can Saul be a prophet?”
13. After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the place of worship.