Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now ^(A)Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^(B)Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make ^(C)a covenant with us and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, ^(D)that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and thereby I will inflict ^(E)a disgrace on all Israel.” ³ So ^(F)the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Allow us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” ⁴ Then the messengers came ^(G)to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people ^(H)raised their voices and wept.

⁵ Now behold, Saul was coming from the field ^(I)behind the oxen, and Saul said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶ Then ^(J)the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and ^[a]he became very angry. ⁷ He then took a yoke of oxen and ^(K)cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “^(L)Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out ^(M)as one person. ⁸ He ^[b]counted them in ^(N)Bezek; and the ^(O)sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, thirty thousand. ⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “This is what you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they rejoiced. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said, “^(P)Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good ^[c]to you.” ¹¹ The next morning Saul put the people ^(Q)in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch, and struck and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “^(R)Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^[d](S)Bring the men, so that we may put them to death!” ¹³ But Saul said, “^(T)Not a single person shall be put to death this day, for today ^(U)the Lord has brought about ^[e]victory in Israel.”

¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to ^(V)Gilgal and ^(W)renew the kingdom there.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(X)before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also ^(Y)offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel Addresses Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^(Z)I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^(AA)have appointed a king over you. ² Now, ^(AB)here is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^(AC)I am old and gray, and ^(AD)my sons are here with you. And ^(AE)I have walked before you since my youth to this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and ^(AF)His anointed. ^(AG)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(AH)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” ⁴ And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” ⁵ So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(AI)you have found nothing ^(AJ)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^[f](AK)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, take your stand, ^(AL)so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord that He did for you and your fathers. ^8 (AM)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(AN)your fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^(AO)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^[g](AP)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(AQ)they forgot the Lord their God, so ^(AR)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^(AS)into the hand of the Philistines, and ^(AT)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (AU)They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served ^(AV)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(AW)now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent ^(AX)Jerubbaal, ^[h](AY)Bedan, ^(AZ)Jephthah, and ^(BA)Samuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

¹² But when you saw ^(BB)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘^(BC)No, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^(BD)Yet the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now, ^(BE)behold, the king whom you have chosen, ^(BF)whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has ^[i]put a king over you. ^14 (BG)If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[j]command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But ^(BH)if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^[k]command of the Lord, then ^(BI)the hand of the Lord will be against you, ^(BJ)even as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Even now, ^(BK)take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. ^17 (BL)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(BM)I will call to the Lord, that He will send ^[l]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(BN)your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent ^[m]thunder and rain that day; and ^(BO)all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, “^(BP)Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^(BQ)this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(BR)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^(BS)useless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. ²² For ^(BT)the Lord will not abandon His people ^(BU)on account of His great name, because the Lord ^(BV)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³ Furthermore, as for me, ^(BW)far be it from me that I would sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(BX)I will instruct you in the good and right way. ^24 (BY)Only ^[n]fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^(BZ)what great things He has done for you. ^25 (CA)But if you still do evil, ^(CB)both you and your king ^(CC)will be swept away.”

Genealogy from Adam

1 ^(A)Adam, Seth, Enosh, ² Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, ³ Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, ⁴ Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

^5 (B)The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. ⁶ The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, ^[a]Diphath, and Togarmah. ⁷ The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and ^[b]Rodanim.

⁸ The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. ⁹ The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. ¹⁰ Cush fathered Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

^11 (C)Mizraim fathered the people of Lud, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, ¹² Pathrus, and Casluh, from whom the Philistines came, and the ^[c]Caphtorim.

¹³ Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, and Heth, ¹⁴ and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ¹⁵ the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁶ the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

^17 (D)The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram, Uz, Hul, Gether, and ^[d]Meshech. ¹⁸ Arpachshad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber. ¹⁹ Two sons were born to Eber: the name of the one was ^[e]Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. ²⁰ Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²¹ Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ^22 [f]Ebal, Abimael, Sheba, ²³ Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan.

^24 (E)Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, ²⁵ Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶ Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷ and Abram, that is Abraham.

Descendants of Abraham

²⁸ The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael. ^29 (F)These are their genealogies: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ³⁰ Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, ³¹ Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah; these were the sons of Ishmael. ^32 (G)The sons of Keturah, Abraham’s concubine, to whom she gave birth, were Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan. ³³ The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.

^34 (H)Abraham fathered Isaac. The sons of Isaac were ^(I)Esau and ^[g]Israel. ^35 (J)The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. ³⁶ The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, ^[h]Zephi, Gatam, Kenaz, Timna, and Amalek. ³⁷ The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. ^38 (K)The sons of Seir were Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. ³⁹ The sons of Lotan were Hori and ^[i]Homam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. ⁴⁰ The sons of Shobal were ^[j]Alian, Manahath, Ebal, ^[k]Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. ⁴¹ The ^[l]son of Anah was Dishon. And the sons of Dishon were ^[m]Hamran, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ⁴² The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and ^[n]Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.

^43 (L)Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king from the sons of Israel reigned. Bela was the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ⁴⁴ When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of ^(M)Bozrah became king in his place. ⁴⁵ When Jobab died, Husham of the land of ^(N)the Temanites became king in his place. ⁴⁶ When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who ^[o]defeated Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place; and the name of his city was Avith. ⁴⁷ When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah became king in his place. ⁴⁸ When Samlah died, Shaul of Rehoboth by the Euphrates River became king in his place. ⁴⁹ When Shaul died, Baal-hanan the son of Achbor became king in his place. ⁵⁰ When Baal-hanan died, ^[p]Hadad became king in his place; and the name of his city was ^[q]Pai, and his wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab. ⁵¹ Then Hadad died.

Now the tribal chiefs of Edom were chief Timna, chief ^[r]Aliah, chief Jetheth, ⁵² chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, ⁵³ chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, ⁵⁴ chief Magdiel, and chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom.

Paul Defends His Apostleship

11 I wish that you would ^(A)bear with me in a little ^(B)foolishness; but ^[a]indeed you are bearing with me. ² For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I ^(C)betrothed you to one husband, to ^(D)present you as a pure virgin to Christ. ³ But I am afraid that, as the ^(E)serpent deceived Eve by his trickery, your minds will be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if ^[b]one comes and preaches ^(F)another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a ^(G)different spirit which you have not received, or a ^(H)different gospel which you have not accepted, this you ^(I)tolerate ^(J)very well! ⁵ For I consider myself ^(K)not in the least inferior to the ^[c]most eminent apostles. ⁶ But even if I am ^(L)unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in ^(M)knowledge; in fact, in every way we have ^(N)made this evident to you in all things.

⁷ Or ^(O)did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the ^(P)gospel of God to you ^(Q)without charge? ⁸ I robbed other churches by ^(R)taking wages from them to serve you; ⁹ and when I was present with you and was in need, I was ^(S)not a burden to anyone; for when ^(T)the brothers came from ^(U)Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from ^(V)being a burden to you, ^[d]and will continue to do so. ^10 (W)As the truth of Christ is in me, ^(X)this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of ^(Y)Achaia. ¹¹ Why? ^(Z)Because I do not love you? ^(AA)God knows that I do!

¹² But what I am doing I will also continue to do, ^(AB)so that I may eliminate the opportunity from those who want an opportunity to be ^[e]regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. ¹³ For such men are ^(AC)false apostles, ^(AD)deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ No wonder, for even ^(AE)Satan disguises himself as an ^(AF)angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, ^(AG)whose end will be according to their deeds.

^16 (AH)Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. ¹⁷ What I am saying, I am not saying ^[f](AI)as the Lord would, but as ^(AJ)in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. ¹⁸ Since ^(AK)many boast ^(AL)according to the flesh, I will boast also. ¹⁹ For you, ^(AM)being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. ²⁰ For you tolerate it if anyone ^(AN)enslaves you, if anyone ^(AO)devours you, if anyone ^(AP)takes advantage of you, if anyone ^(AQ)exalts himself, if anyone ^(AR)hits you in the face. ²¹ To my ^(AS)shame I must say that we have been ^(AT)weak by comparison.

But in whatever respect anyone else ^(AU)is bold—I am ^(AV)speaking in foolishness—I too am bold. ²² Are they ^(AW)Hebrews? ^(AX)So am I. Are they ^(AY)Israelites? ^(AZ)So am I. Are they ^[g](BA)descendants of Abraham? ^(BB)So am I. ²³ Are they ^(BC)servants of Christ?—I am speaking as if insane—I more so; in ^(BD)far more labors, in ^(BE)far more imprisonments, ^[h](BF)beaten times without number, often in danger of ^(BG)death. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews ^(BH)thirty-nine lashes. ²⁵ Three times I was ^(BI)beaten with rods, once I was ^(BJ)stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea. ²⁶ I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my ^(BK)countrymen, dangers from the ^(BL)Gentiles, dangers in the ^(BM)city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among ^(BN)false brothers; ²⁷ I have been in ^(BO)labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in ^(BP)hunger and thirst, often ^(BQ)without food, in cold and ^[i](BR)exposure. ²⁸ Apart from such ^[j]external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for ^(BS)all the churches. ²⁹ Who is ^(BT)weak without my being weak? Who is ^[k]led into sin ^[l]without my intense concern?

³⁰ If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my ^(BU)weakness. ³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, ^(BV)He who is blessed forever, ^(BW)knows that I am not lying. ³² In ^(BX)Damascus the ethnarch under Aretas the king was ^(BY)guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me, ³³ and I was let down in a basket ^(BZ)through a window ^[m]in the wall, and so escaped his hands.