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¹ Then toke Samuel a glasse of oyle, and poured it vpo his heade, and kissed him, and sayde: Seist thou that the LORDE hath anoynted the, to be the prince ouer his enheritauce?² Whan thou goest now fro me, thou shalt fynde two men besyde Rachels graue in the coast of BenIamin at Zelzah, which shal saie vnto the: The asses are founde, whom thou wentest to seke: and beholde, thy father hath put the asses out of his mynde, and taketh thoughte for the, and sayeth: What shall I do for my sonne?³ And whan thou goest on forth from thence, thou shalt come to the Oke of Thabor, there shall thre men fynde the, which go vp vnto God towarde Bethel: one beareth thre kiddes, another thre loaues of bred the thyrde a bottel with wyne:⁴ and they shall salute the, and geue the two loaues, which thou shalt take of their hande.⁵ After that shalt thou come to the hyll of God, where the Philistynes watch is: and wha thou comest there in to the cite, there shall mete the a company of prophetes commynge downe from the hye place, and before them a Psaltery, and tabret, a pype and a harpe, and they them selues prophecienge.⁶ And the sprete of the LORDE shall come vpon the, and thou shalt prophecye with them, and shalt be chaunged in to another man.⁷ Whan these tokens now come vnto the, then do what so euer commeth vnder thyne hande: for God is with the.⁸ Thou shalt go downe before me vnto Gilgall: Beholde, thither wyl I come downe vnto the, that thou mayest offre burntofferynges and deedofferynges. Seuen dayes shalt thou tarye till I come to the, and shewe the what thou shuldest do.

⁹ And whan he turned his shulder to go from Samuel, God chaunged him another hert, and all these tokes came the same daye.¹⁰ And whan they came vnto the hill, beholde, there met him a company of prophetes and the sprete of God came vpon him, so that he prophecyed amonge them.¹¹ But wha they which knewe him before, sawe him that he prophecied with the prophetes, they sayde all amonge them selues: What is happened vnto the sonne of Cis? Is Saul also amonge the prophetes?¹² And one yt was there, answered and sayde: Who is their father? Hereof came the prouerbe: Is Saul also amonge the prophetes?¹³ And wha he had left of prophecienge, he came vp to the hyll.¹⁴ Sauls vncle sayde vnto him and to his childe: Whither wente ye? They answered: To seke the asses. And whan we sawe that they were awaye, we came vnto Samuel.¹⁵ Then sayde Sauls vncle: Tell me, what sayde Samuel vnto you?¹⁶ Saul answered his vncle: He tolde vs, yt the asses were foude. But of ye kyngdome he tolde him nothinge what Samuel had sayde.

¹⁷ Samuel called the people together vnto the LORDE to Mispa,¹⁸ and spake vnto the children of Israel: Thus saieth ye LORDE the God of Israel: I broughte Israel out of Egipte, and delyuered you from the hande of ye Egipcians, and from the hande of all the kyngdomes that oppressed you.¹⁹ But now haue ye refused yor God, which hath helped you out of all youre sorowes and troubles, & ye haue saide vnto him: Set a kinge ouer vs. Well, stonde ye now before ye LORDE acordinge to youre trybes and kynreds.²⁰ Now whan Samuel had brought forth all the trybes of Israel, the trybe of BenIamin was taken.²¹ And whan he had broughte forth the trybe of BenIamin with his kynreds, the kynred of Matri was take, & Saul the sonne of Cis was take. And they sought him, but they founde him not.²² Then axed they further at the LORDE, whether he was for to come thither. The LORDE answered: Beholde, he hath hyd him selfe amonge ye vessels.²³ Then ranne they thither, and fetched him. And whan he stode amonge the people, he was hygher by the heade then all the people.²⁴ And Samuel sayde vnto all the people: There se ye him whom the LORDE hath chosen, for in all the people there is none like him. Then gaue all the people a shoute, and sayde: God saue the new kynge.²⁵ Samuel tolde the people all the lawe of the kyngdome, and wrote it in a boke, and layed it before the LORDE. And Samuel let all the people go, euery one to his awne house.²⁶ And Saul wente home also vnto Gibea, and there wente with him one parte of the hoost, whose hertes God had touched.²⁷ But the childre of Belial sayde: What shal this felowe helpe vs, and despysed him, & broughte him no presente. But he made him as though he herde it not.