14. Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”Saul said, “We were looking for the donkeys. When we couldn’t find them, we went to talk to Samuel.”
15. Saul’s uncle asked, “Please tell me. What did Samuel say to you?”
16. Saul answered, “He told us the donkeys had already been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about his becoming king.
17. Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet with the Lord at Mizpah.
18. He said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I led Israel out of Egypt. I saved you from Egypt’s control. And I saved you from other kingdoms that were troubling you.’
19. But now you have rejected your God. He saves you from all your troubles and problems. But you said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ Now come, stand before the Lord in your tribes and family groups.”
20. Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near. And the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
21. Samuel had them pass by in family groups, and Matri’s family was chosen. Then he had each man of Matri’s family pass by. And Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for Saul, they could not find him.
22. Then they asked the Lord, “Has Saul come here yet?”The Lord said, “Yes. He’s hiding behind the baggage.”
23. So they ran and brought him out. When Saul stood among the people, he was a head taller than anyone else.
24. Then Samuel said to the people, “See the man the Lord has chosen. There is no one like him among all the people.”Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25. Samuel explained the rights and duties of the king. He wrote the rules in a book and put the book before the Lord. Then he told the people to go to their homes.
26. Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. God touched the hearts of certain brave men who went along with him.
27. But some troublemakers said, “How can this man save us?” They hated Saul and refused to bring gifts to him. But Saul kept quiet.