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, ^(A)I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^(B)have appointed a king over you. ² Now, ^(C)here is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^(D)I am old and gray, and ^(E)my sons are here with you. And ^(F)I have walked before you since my youth to this day. ³ Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and ^(G)His anointed. ^(H)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(I)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 ^(J)you have found nothing ^(K)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^[a](L)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ Now then, take your stand, ^(M)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 (N)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(O)your fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^(P)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^[b](Q)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(R)they forgot the Lord their God, so ^(S)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^(T)into the hand of the Philistines, and ^(U)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (V)They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served ^(W)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(X)now save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent ^(Y)Jerubbaal, ^[c](Z)Bedan, ^(AA)Jephthah, and ^(AB)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 ^(AC)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘^(AD)No, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^(AE)Yet the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ And now, ^(AF)behold, the king whom you have chosen, ^(AG)whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has ^[d]put a king over you. ^14 (AH)If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[e]command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But ^(AI)if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^[f]command of the Lord, then ^(AJ)the hand of the Lord will be against you, ^(AK)even as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Even now, ^(AL)take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. ^17 (AM)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(AN)I will call to the Lord, that He will send ^[g]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(AO)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 ^[h]thunder and rain that day; and ^(AP)all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, “^(AQ)Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^(AR)this evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(AS)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 ^(AT)useless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. ²² For ^(AU)the Lord will not abandon His people ^(AV)on account of His great name, because the Lord ^(AW)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³ Furthermore, as for me, ^(AX)far be it from me that I would sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(AY)I will instruct you in the good and right way. ^24 (AZ)Only ^[i]fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^(BA)what great things He has done for you. ^25 (BB)But if you still do evil, ^(BC)both you and your king ^(BD)will be swept away.”

War with the Philistines

13 Saul was ^[a]thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for ^[b]forty-two years over Israel.

² Now Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of whom two thousand were with Saul in ^(A)Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while a thousand were with Jonathan at ^(B)Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent the rest of the people away, each to his tent. ³ And Jonathan attacked ^(C)the garrison of the Philistines that was in ^(D)Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul ^(E)blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴ And all Israel heard ^[c]the news that Saul had attacked the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel ^(F)had become repulsive to the Philistines. Then the people were summoned ^[d]to Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and ^(G)people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of ^(H)Beth-aven. ⁶ When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard-pressed), then ^(I)the people kept themselves hidden in caves, in crevices, in cliffs, in crypts, and in pits. ⁷ And some of the Hebrews crossed the Jordan into the land of ^(J)Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.

⁸ Now ^(K)he waited for seven days, until the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. ⁹ So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And ^(L)he offered the burnt offering. ¹⁰ But as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and ^(M)Saul went out to meet him and to ^[e]greet him. ¹¹ But Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Since I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come at the appointed ^[f]time, and that ^(N)the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, ¹² I ^[g]thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not ^[h]asked the favor of the Lord.’ So I worked up the courage and offered the burnt offering.” ¹³ But Samuel said to Saul, “^(O)You have acted foolishly! ^(P)You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for the Lord would now have established your kingdom ^[i]over Israel ^(Q)forever. ¹⁴ But ^(R)now your kingdom shall not endure. ^(S)The Lord has sought for Himself a man ^[j]after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to ^(T)Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul ^[k]counted the people who were ^[l]present with him, ^(U)about six hundred men. ¹⁶ Now Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were ^[m]present with them were staying in ^(V)Geba of Benjamin while the Philistines camped at Michmash. ¹⁷ Then ^(W)[n]raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three ^[o]companies: one ^[p]company turned ^[q]toward ^(X)Ophrah, to the land of Shual, ¹⁸ and another ^[r]company turned ^[s]toward ^(Y)Beth-horon, and another ^[t]company turned ^[u]toward the border that overlooks the Valley of ^(Z)Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹ Now ^(AA)no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make ^[v](AB)swords or spears.” ²⁰ So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe. ²¹ The charge was ^[w]two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to fix the ^[x]cattle goads. ²² So it came about on the day of battle that ^(AC)neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan. ²³ And ^(AD)the garrison of the Philistines went out to ^(AE)the gorge of Michmash.

The Conversion of Saul

9 ^(A)Now ^[a]Saul, still ^(B)breathing ^[b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, ² and asked for ^(C)letters from him to ^(D)the synagogues in ^(E)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to ^[c](F)the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them in shackles to Jerusalem. ³ Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and ^(G)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; ⁴ and ^(H)he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, ⁶ but get up and enter the city, and ^(I)it will be told to you what you must do.” ⁷ The men who traveled with him ^(J)stood speechless, ^(K)hearing the ^[d]voice but seeing no one. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, and ^(L)though his eyes were open, he ^[e]could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into ^(M)Damascus. ⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple in ^(N)Damascus named ^(O)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in ^(P)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(Q)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, ¹² and he has seen ^[f]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(R)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, ^(S)how much harm he did to ^(T)Your ^[g]saints in Jerusalem; ¹⁴ and here he ^(U)has authority from the chief priests to ^[h]arrest all who ^(V)call on Your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(W)he is a chosen ^[i]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(X)the Gentiles and ^(Y)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for ^(Z)I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after ^(AA)laying his hands on him said, “^(AB)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be ^(AC)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately something like fish scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(AD)for several days he was with ^(AE)the disciples who were in Damascus, ²⁰ and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus ^(AF)in the synagogues, ^[j]saying, “He is ^(AG)the Son of God.” ²¹ All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ^(AH)destroyed those who ^(AI)called on this name, and had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the ^[k]Christ.

²³ When ^(AJ)many days had elapsed, ^(AK)the Jews plotted together to do away with him, ²⁴ but ^(AL)their plot became known to Saul. ^(AM)They were also closely watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; ²⁵ but his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a large basket.

^26 (AN)When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But ^(AO)Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles and described to them how he had ^(AP)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how ^(AQ)he had ^(AR)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. ²⁸ And he was with them, ^[l]moving about freely in Jerusalem, ^(AS)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ And he was talking and arguing with the ^[m](AT)Hellenistic Jews; but they were attempting to put him to death. ³⁰ Now when ^(AU)the ^[n]brothers learned of it, they brought him down to ^(AV)Caesarea and ^(AW)sent him away to ^(AX)Tarsus.

³¹ So ^(AY)the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria ^[o]enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it ^[p]continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.

Peter’s Ministry

³² Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he also came down to ^(AZ)the ^[q]saints who lived at ^[r](BA)Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years, ^[s]because he was paralyzed. ³⁴ Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your own bed.” Immediately he got up. ³⁵ And all who lived at ^[t](BB)Lydda and ^(BC)Sharon saw him, and they ^(BD)turned to the Lord.

³⁶ Now in ^(BE)Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which when translated means ^[u]Dorcas); this woman was ^[v]excelling in acts of kindness and charity which she did habitually. ³⁷ But it happened ^[w]at that time that she became sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an ^(BF)upstairs room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near ^(BG)Joppa, ^(BH)the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” ³⁹ So Peter got ready and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the ^(BI)room upstairs; and all the ^(BJ)widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the ^[x]tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter ^(BK)sent them all out and ^(BL)knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “^(BM)Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling ^(BN)the ^[y]saints and ^(BO)widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² It became known all over ^(BP)Joppa, and ^(BQ)many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And Peter stayed in ^(BR)Joppa many days with ^(BS)a tanner named Simon.