¹ And Samuel took a little vial of oil and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: Behold, the Lord hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance, and thou shalt deliver his people out of the hands of their enemies, that are round about them. And this shall be a sign unto thee, that God hath anointed thee to be prince.

² When thou shalt depart from me this day, thou shalt find two men by the sepulchre of Rachel in the borders of Benjamin to the south, and they shall say to thee: The asses are found which thou wentest to seek: and thy father thinking no more of the asses is concerned for you, and saith: What shall I do for my son?

³ And when thou shalt depart from thence, and go farther on, and shalt come to the oak of Thabor, there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine.

⁴ And they will salute thee, and will give thee two loaves, and thou shalt take them at their hand.

⁵ After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is: and when thou shalt be come there into the city, thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place, with a psaltery and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp before them, and they shall be prophesying.

⁶ And the spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be changed into another man.

⁷ When therefore these signs shall happen to thee, do whatsoever thy hand shall find, for the Lord is with thee.

⁸ And thou shalt go down before me to Galgal, (for I will come down to thee,) that thou mayest offer an oblation, and sacrifice victims of peace: seven days shalt thou wait, till I come to thee, and I will shew thee what thou art to do.

⁹ So when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave unto him another heart, and all these things came to pass that day.

¹⁰ And they came to the foresaid hill, and behold a company of prophets met him: and the spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied in the midst of them.

¹¹ And all that had known him yesterday and the day before, seeing that he was with the prophets, and prophesied, said to each other: What is this that hath happened to the son of Cis? Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹² And one answered another, saying: And who is their father? therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets?

¹³ And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴ And Saul's uncle said to him, and to his servant: Whither went you? They answered: To seek the asses: and not finding them we went to Samuel.

¹⁵ And his uncle said to him: Tell me what Samuel said to thee.

¹⁶ And Saul said to his uncle: He told us that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken to him, he told him not.

¹⁷ And Samuel called together the people to the Lord in Maspha:

¹⁸ And he said to the children of Israel: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you.

¹⁹ But you this day have rejected your God, who only hath saved you out of all your evils and your tribulations: and you have said: Nay: but set a king over us. Now therefore stand before the Lord by your tribes, and by your families.

²⁰ And Samuel brought to him all the tribes of Israel, and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin.

²¹ And he brought the tribe of Benjamin and the kindreds thereof, and the lot fell Upon the kindred of Metri, and it came to Saul the son of Cis. They sought him therefore and he was not found.

²² And after this they consulted the Lord whether he would come thither. And the Lord answered: Behold he is hidden at home.

²³ And they ran and fetched him thence: and he stood in the midst of the people, and he was higher than any of the people from the shoulders and upward.

²⁴ And Samuel said to all the people: Surely you see him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people. And all the people cried and said: God save the king.

²⁵ And Samuel told the people the law of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord: and Samuel sent away all the people, every one to his own house.

²⁶ Saul also departed to his own house in Gabaa: and there went with him a part of the army, whose hearts God had touched.

²⁷ But the children of Belial said: Shall this fellow be able to save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents, but he dissembled as though he heard not.

¹ And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal.

² And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel,

³ The sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace.

⁴ And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho,

⁵ The sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace.

⁶ And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together,

⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan.

⁸ And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground.

⁹ And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit.

¹⁰ And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it.

¹¹ And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

¹² And Eliseus saw him, and cried: My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own garments, and rent them in two pieces.

¹³ And he took up the mantle of Elias, that fell from him: and going back, he stood upon the bank of the Jordan,

¹⁴ And he struck the waters with the mantle of Elias, that had fallen from him, and they were not divided. And he said: Where is now the God of Elias? And he struck the waters, and they were divided, hither and thither, and Eliseus passed over.

¹⁵ And the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who were over against him, seeing it said: The spirit of Elias hath rested upon Eliseus. And coming to meet him, they worshipped him, falling to the ground,

¹⁶ And they said to him: Behold, there are with thy servants fifty strong men, that can go, and seek thy master, lest perhaps the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. And he said: Do not send.

¹⁷ But they pressed him, till he consented, and said: Send. And they sent fifty men: and they sought three days but found him not.

¹⁸ And they came back to him: for he abode at Jericho, and he said to them: Did I not say to you: Do not send?

¹⁹ And the men of the city said to Eliseus: Behold the situation of this city is very good, as thou, my lord, seest: but the waters are very bad, and the ground barren.

²⁰ And he said: Bring me a new vessel, and put salt into it. And when they had brought it,

²¹ He went out to the spring of the waters, and cast the salt into it, and said: Thus saith the Lord: I have healed these waters, and there shall be no more in them death or barrenness.

²² And the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Eliseus, which he spoke.

²³ And he went up from thence to Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, little boys came out of the city and mocked him, saying: Go up, thou bald head; Go up, thou bald head.

²⁴ And looking back, he saw them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord: and there came forth two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty boys.

²⁵ And from thence he went to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.