When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! He will have authority over my people.”
- KJV And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
- NKJV So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.”
- NASB When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.”
- NLT When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, “That’s the man I told you about! He will rule my people.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When Samuel sees Saul, the LORD confirms that this is the man who will rule His people.
Overview
God's direct word removes any doubt about Saul's identity. The confirmation shows that the choice of Israel's king rests with the LORD, not human judgment. Samuel can now act with full assurance that he is following God's will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Hos 13:11So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.
- Acts 13:21Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.
- 2 Sam 23:6–7But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside, for they can never be gathered by hand.
- 1 Sam 16:6–12When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Surely here before the LORD is His anointed.”
- Rom 13:3–4For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
- Neh 13:19When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.
- Neh 13:25I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
- 1 Sam 3:13I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 9:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.