1 Samuel 11
New English Translation
Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh
11 [a] Nahash[b] the Ammonite marched[c] against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”
2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!”
3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.”
4 When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived)[d] and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly.[e] 5 Now Saul was walking behind the[f] oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, “What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about[g] the men of Jabesh.
6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a pair[h] of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, “Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army.[i] 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong[j] and the men of Judah numbered 30,000.
9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 10 The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you[k] and you can do with us whatever you wish.”[l]
11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them[m] down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together.
Saul Is Established as King
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who were the ones asking, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!” 13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!” 14 Samuel said to the people, “Come on! Let’s go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where[n] they established Saul as king in the Lord’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 11:1 tc 4QSama and Josephus (Ant. 6.68-71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash’s practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.” The variations may be explained as scribal errors due to homoioteleuton, in which case the scribe jumps from one word to another word with a similar ending later in the text. If the reading in 4QSama is correct, then perhaps the scribe of the MT skipped from the phrase ויהי כמחרישׁ (vayehi kemakharish) at the end of 1 Sam 10:27, which should possibly be ויהי כמו חרשׁ (vayehi kemo kheresh), and picked up after the phrase ויהי כמו חדשׁ (vayehi kemo khodesh, “it happened about a month later…”). Interestingly 4QSama itself involves a case of homoioteleuton in this passage. The scribe first skipped from one case of גלעד (Gilʿad, “Gilead”) to another, then inserted the missing 10 words between the lines of the 4QSama text. The fact that the scribe made a mistake of this sort and then corrected it supports the idea that he was copying from a source that had these verses in it. Also the 4QSama text first introduces Nahash with his full title, which is a better match to normal style See the discussions in E. Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 2nd rev. ed. [Fortress Press, 2001] 342-344, P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103. Though the external evidence for the additional material is limited, the internal evidence is strong.
- 1 Samuel 11:1 sn The name “Nahash” means “serpent” in Hebrew.
- 1 Samuel 11:1 tn Heb “went up and camped”; NIV, NRSV “went up and besieged.”
- 1 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “to Gibeah of Saul.”
- 1 Samuel 11:4 tn Heb “lifted their voice and wept.”
- 1 Samuel 11:5 tn Or perhaps, “his oxen.” On this use of the definite article see Joüon 2:506-7 §137.f.
- 1 Samuel 11:5 tn Heb “the matters of.”
- 1 Samuel 11:7 tn Heb “yoke.”
- 1 Samuel 11:7 tn Heb “like one man.”
- 1 Samuel 11:8 tc The LXX and two Old Latin mss read 600,000 here, rather than the MT’s 300,000.
- 1 Samuel 11:10 tn The second masculine plural forms in this quotation indicate that Nahash and his army are addressed.
- 1 Samuel 11:10 tn Heb “according to all that is good in your eyes.”
- 1 Samuel 11:11 tn Heb “Ammon.” By metonymy the name “Ammon” is used collectively for the soldiers in the Ammonite army.
- 1 Samuel 11:15 tn Heb “and there in Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 11
New King James Version
Saul Saves Jabesh Gilead
11 Then (A)Nahash the Ammonite came up and [a]encamped against (B)Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, (C)“Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”
2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring (D)reproach on all Israel.”
3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to [b]save us, we will come out to you.”
4 So the messengers came (E)to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And (F)all the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the people, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 (G)Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7 So he took a yoke of oxen and (H)cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, (I)“Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.”
And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out [c]with one consent. 8 When he numbered them in (J)Bezek, the children (K)of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us whatever seems good to you.”
11 So it was, on the next day, that (L)Saul put the people (M)in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, (N)“Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ (O)Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, (P)“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today (Q)the Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go (R)to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king (S)before the Lord in Gilgal. (T)There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 11:1 besieged
- 1 Samuel 11:3 deliver
- 1 Samuel 11:7 Lit. as one man
1 Samuel 11
English Standard Version
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.
1 Samuel 11
Easy-to-Read Version
11 About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite and his army surrounded Jabesh Gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, “If you will make a treaty with us, we will serve you.”
2 But he answered, “I will make a treaty with you people only if I can poke out the right eye of each person. Then all Israel will be ashamed.”
3 The leaders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Let us have seven days. We will send messengers through all Israel. If no one comes to help us, we will come up to you and surrender to you.”
Saul Saves Jabesh Gilead
4 The messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived. They told the news to the people. The people cried loudly. 5 Saul had been out in the field with his oxen. When he came in from the field he heard the people crying and asked, “What’s wrong with the people? Why are they crying?”
Then the people told Saul what the messengers from Jabesh said. 6 Saul listened to their story. Then God’s Spirit came on him with great power. Saul became very angry. 7 He took a pair of oxen and cut them in pieces. Then he gave the pieces of the oxen to messengers. He ordered the messengers to carry the pieces throughout the land of Israel. He told them to give this message to the Israelites: “Come follow Saul and Samuel. If anyone doesn’t come and help them, this same thing will happen to his oxen.”
A great fear from the Lord came on the people. They all came together like one person. 8 Saul gathered the men together at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.
9 Saul and his army told the messengers from Jabesh, “Tell the people at Jabesh in Gilead that by noon tomorrow, you will be saved.”
The messengers told Saul’s message to the people at Jabesh, and they were very happy. 10 Then the people of Jabesh said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will come to you, and you can do whatever you want to us.”
11 The next morning Saul separated his soldiers into three groups. At sunrise, Saul and his soldiers entered the Ammonite camp. Saul attacked while they were changing guards that morning. He and his soldiers defeated the Ammonites before noon. The Ammonite soldiers all ran away in different directions—no two soldiers stayed together.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Where are the people who said they didn’t want Saul to rule as king? Bring them here, and we will kill them.”
13 But Saul said, “No, don’t kill anyone today! The Lord saved Israel today.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. At Gilgal we will again make Saul the king.”
15 All the people went to Gilgal. There, in front of the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all the Israelites had a great celebration.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International