Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 ^(A)Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^(B)Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ^(C)“Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, ^(D)that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus ^(E)bring disgrace on all Israel.” ³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to ^(F)Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, ^(G)and all the people wept aloud.

⁵ Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. ^6 (H)And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen ^(I)and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, ^(J)“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out ^(K)as one man. ⁸ When he mustered them at ^(L)Bezek, ^(M)the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ⁹ And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have ^(N)salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. ¹⁰ Therefore the men of Jabesh said, ^(O)“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” ^11 (P)And the next day Saul put the people ^(Q)in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Kingdom Is Renewed

¹² Then the people said to Samuel, ^(R)“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^(S)Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³ But Saul said, ^(T)“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today ^(U)the Lord has worked ^(V)salvation in Israel.” ¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to ^(W)Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^(X)before the Lord in Gilgal. There ^(Y)they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Samuel's Farewell Address

12 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^(Z)your voice in all that you have said to me ^(AA)and have made a king over you. ² And now, behold, the king ^(AB)walks before you, ^(AC)and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^(AD)his anointed. ^(AE)Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me^[a] and I will restore it to you.” ⁴ They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” ⁵ And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^(AF)his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ^(AG)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ And Samuel said to the people, ^(AH)“The Lord is witness,^[b] who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. ^8 (AI)When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,^{[c] (AJ)}then your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^(AK)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^(AL)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. ⁹ But ^(AM)they forgot the Lord their God. ^(AN)And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,^{[d] (AO)}and into the hand of the Philistines, ^(AP)and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. ^10 (AQ)And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^(AR)and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^(AS)deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ ¹¹ And the Lord sent ^(AT)Jerubbaal ^(AU)and Barak^{[e] (AV)}and Jephthah and ^(AW)Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. ¹² And when you saw that ^(AX)Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^(AY)you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^(AZ)when the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now ^(BA)behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^(BB)the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴ If you will ^(BC)fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. ¹⁵ But ^(BD)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^(BE)the hand of the Lord will be against you and ^(BF)your king.^{[f] 16} Now therefore ^(BG)stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. ^17 (BH)Is it not wheat harvest today? ^(BI)I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^(BJ)your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^(BK)and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ And all the people said to Samuel, ^(BL)“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^(BM)do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ And ^(BN)do not turn aside after ^(BO)empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. ^22 (BP)For the Lord will not forsake his people, ^(BQ)for his great name's sake, because ^(BR)it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. ²³ Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^(BS)to pray for you, ^(BT)and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. ^24 (BU)Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^(BV)what great things he has done for you. ²⁵ But if you still do wickedly, ^(BW)you shall be swept away, ^(BX)both you and your king.”

Saul Fights the Philistines

13 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel,^{[g] 2} Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^(BY)Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^(BZ)Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. ³ Jonathan defeated ^(CA)the garrison of the Philistines that was ^(CB)at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^(CC)blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” ⁴ And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^(CD)like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^(CE)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^(CF)in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, ⁷ and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul's Unlawful Sacrifice

^8 (CG)He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. ¹¹ Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, ¹² I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ And Samuel said to Saul, ^(CH)“You have done foolishly. ^(CI)You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now ^(CJ)your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^(CK)after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince^[h] over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” ¹⁵ And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal^[i] to ^(CL)Gibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^(CM)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^(CN)Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. ¹⁷ And ^(CO)raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; ¹⁸ another company turned toward ^(CP)Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^(CQ)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

^19 (CR)Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” ²⁰ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle,^{[j] 21} and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel^[k] for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel^[l] for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.^{[m] 22} So on the day of the battle ^(CS)there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. ²³ And ^(CT)the garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^(CU)pass of ^(CV)Michmash.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 ^(A)And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^(B)to test him ^(C)they asked him to show them ^(D)a sign from heaven. ² He answered them,^{[a] (E)}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(F)You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^(G)the signs of the times. ^4 (H)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ^(I)he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶ Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^(J)beware of ^(K)the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But ^(L)Jesus, aware of this, said, ^(M)“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9 (N)Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^(O)the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or ^(P)the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹ How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^(Q)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12 (R)Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^(S)the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (T)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say ^(U)John the Baptist, others say ^(V)Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter replied, ^(W)“You are ^(X)the Christ, ^(Y)the Son of ^(Z)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(AA)“Blessed are you, ^(AB)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(AC)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(AD)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(AE)you are Peter, and ^(AF)on this rock^[b] I will build my church, and ^(AG)the gates of ^(AH)hell^[c] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(AI)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(AJ)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[d] in heaven.” ^20 (AK)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21 (AL)From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^(AM)he must go to Jerusalem and ^(AN)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(AO)the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!^[e] This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, ^(AP)“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^(AQ)a hindrance^[f] to me. For you ^(AR)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²⁴ Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(AS)deny himself and ^(AT)take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For ^(AU)whoever would save his life^[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For ^(AV)what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^(AW)what shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27 (AX)For the Son of Man is going to come with ^(AY)his angels in the glory of his Father, and ^(AZ)then he will repay each person according to what he has done. ²⁸ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^(BA)taste death ^(BB)until they see the Son of Man ^(BC)coming in his kingdom.”