Samuel salver Saul til konge
1Samuel tog nu sin olieflaske og hældte olien ud over Sauls hoved. Så kyssede han ham på kinden og sagde: „Jeg salver dig, fordi Herren har udpeget dig til at være leder for Israel, hans ejendomsfolk. 2Når du går herfra, vil du træffe to mænd ved Rakels grav i Zeltza i Benjamins land. De vil fortælle dig, at æslerne er fundet, og at din far nu er bekymret for dig og tænker: ‚Hvad er der dog blevet af min søn?’ 3Og når du kommer til egetræet ved byen Tabor, vil du møde tre mænd, der er på vej til Betel for at tilbede Herren. Den ene af mændene har tre gedekid med sig. Den anden medbringer tre brød og den tredje en lædersæk med vin. 4Mændene vil hilse på dig og tilbyde dig to af brødene, og dem skal du tage imod. 5Derefter kommer du til den hellige by Geba,10,5 Det er vanskeligt at skelne mellem byerne Gibea og Geba, der lå kun fem km fra hinanden. Geba var en levitby, hvor filistrene havde en lejr, mens Gibea var Sauls hjemsted. Begge ord betyder „høj”. Her står der enten „Guds høj” eller „Guds Gibea/Geba”. hvor filistrenes garnison ligger. Der vil du møde en flok profeter, som er på vej ned fra offerhøjen. De spiller på harpe, tamburin, fløjte og lyre, mens de profeterer. 6Da vil Herrens Ånd komme over dig så stærkt, at du begynder at profetere sammen med dem, og du bliver et helt nyt menneske. 7Når disse ting er sket, kan du trygt gøre, hvad du finder rigtigt, for Gud er med dig. 8Gå derefter ned til Gilgal og vent på mig i syv dage, så kommer jeg for at ofre brændofre og takofre, og så vil jeg sige dig, hvad du skal gøre.”
9Da Saul tog afsked med Samuel og begyndte på hjemrejsen, ændrede Gud hans indstilling, og alle Samuels forudsigelser gik i opfyldelse samme dag. 10Da Saul og hans tjener var nået næsten frem til Geba, kom nogle profeter dem i møde. Og Guds Ånd kom over Saul, så han begyndte at profetere.
11Da de, som kendte Saul, så, hvad der gik for sig, udbrød de: „Hvad går der af Kish’ søn? Er Saul nu også blevet en af profeterne?” 12En mand der fra stedet svarede: „Hvem har ansvar for dem?”10,12 Ordret: „Hvem er deres far?” Teksten er uklar. Da Bibelen omtaler dem, der står i lære hos en profet, som profetsønner, er det muligt, at faderen henviser til deres leder, som havde ansvar for deres profetiske udfoldelser. Derfor blev det et stående udtryk: „Er Saul nu også blevet profet?”
13Da Saul holdt op med at profetere, gik han op på offerhøjen.
14Da han kom hjem, spurgte hans farbror: „Hvor i alverden har du været henne?” „Ude og lede efter æslerne,” svarede Saul. „Men vi kunne ikke finde dem. Derfor opsøgte vi profeten Samuel for at finde ud af, hvor de var.”
15„Aha!” udbrød onklen. „Og hvad sagde Samuel så?”
16„At æslerne var i god behold,” svarede Saul uden at fortælle noget om, at Samuel også havde salvet ham til konge.
17Samuel kaldte derefter Israels folk sammen i Mitzpa, 18-19og dér gav han dem følgende budskab fra Herren: „Det var mig, som førte jer ud af Egypten og befriede jer fra egypterne. Det var også mig, der frelste jer fra alle de folk, der pinte og plagede jer. Men selvom jeg har gjort så meget for jer, har I forkastet mig og sagt: ‚Vi vil have en konge i stedet.’ Godt, så træd frem for mig, stamme for stamme og slægt for slægt.”
20Samuel bad først alle stammeoverhovederne om at træde frem for Herren, og det hellige lod faldt på Benjamins stamme. 21Så trådte alle slægtsoverhovederne fra Benjamins stamme frem for Herren, og det hellige lod faldt på Matris slægt. Sådan fortsatte lodkastningen, indtil det hellige lod ramte Kish’ søn, Saul. Men da de ledte efter ham, var han forsvundet.
22Så spurgte de Herren: „Er han her til stede?” Herren svarede: „Ja, han har gemt sig ovre ved våbenlageret.”
23De fandt ham snart og trak ham frem fra hans skjulested, og da han stod oprejst i deres midte, var han et hoved højere end alle de andre.
24Da sagde Samuel til folket: „Det er den mand, som Herren har udpeget til konge over jer. Der findes ingen som ham i hele Israel.” Og folket råbte: „Kongen længe leve!”
25Derefter mindede Samuel igen folket om en konges rettigheder og pligter, og han skrev det hele ned og gemte bogen på et helligt sted. Så sendte han folket hjem.
26Da Saul den dag vendte hjem til Gibea, blev han ledsaget af nogle tapre krigere, hvis hjerter Gud havde rørt. 27Men der var også nogle ondsindede mænd, som protesterede: „Hvordan vil den fyr frelse os?” De foragtede ham og bragte ham ingen gaver. Men Saul lod som ingenting.
1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?10:1 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate over his people Israel? You will reign over the Lord’s people and save them from the power of their enemies round about. And this will be a sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his inheritance: 2When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, “The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, ‘What shall I do about my son?’ ”
3‘Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. 4They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.
5‘After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
8‘Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.’
Saul made king
9As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 11When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, ‘What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?’
12A man who lived there answered, ‘And who is their father?’ So it became a saying: ‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’ 13After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.
14Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, ‘Where have you been?’
‘Looking for the donkeys,’ he said. ‘But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.’
15Saul’s uncle said, ‘Tell me what Samuel said to you.’
16Saul replied, ‘He assured us that the donkeys had been found.’ But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18and said to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.” 19But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, “No, appoint a king over us.” So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.’
20When Samuel had made all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22So they enquired further of the Lord, ‘Has the man come here yet?’
And the Lord said, ‘Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.’
23They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you 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!’
25Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.
26Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27But some scoundrels said, ‘How can this fellow save us?’ They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
