1 Samuel 11
EasyEnglish Bible
Saul saves Jabesh town
11 One month later, Nahash went with his army to attack Jabesh, a town in Gilead region. Nahash was an Ammonite.[a] The people in Jabesh said to him, ‘Make an agreement with us so that we will serve you.’ 2 Nahash said, ‘I will make an agreement with you only if you let me do this. I must cut out the right eye of every person in your town. I want to bring shame on all Israel's people.’
3 The leaders of Jabesh said to him, ‘Wait for seven more days. We will send a message to all the people in Israel. We will ask them to rescue us. If nobody comes to save us, we will agree to whatever you say.’
4 Men took the message to Gibeah, the town where Saul lived. When they told the news to the people there, the people started to weep loudly. 5 Saul had been out on his farm. As he was returning home with his cows, he asked, ‘What has happened here? Why are the people weeping?’ They told Saul what the men from Jabesh had said.
6 When Saul heard the news, God's Spirit came on him with power. He became very angry. 7 He killed two of his oxen. He cut their bodies into pieces. He sent men with the pieces to all the towns in Israel. In each town, the men said, ‘Everyone must join Saul and Samuel to fight in their army. If you do not agree to join them, they will cut up your oxen just like this!’ The people became very afraid of what the Lord would do. So they all came together as one army. 8 They met together at Bezek. Saul counted 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.[b]
9 Saul said to the men who had brought the news from Jabesh, ‘Return to Jabesh. Tell the people, “We will come to rescue you tomorrow, before midday.” ’
So the men took the message to the people in Jabesh. The people were very happy. 10 The men there said to Nahash, ‘Tomorrow we will come out of the town to you. Then you can do anything that you want to us.’
11 Early the next day, Saul put his soldiers into three groups. At dawn, they attacked the camp of the Ammonite soldiers. The Israelite soldiers continued to kill the Ammonites until midday. The Ammonite soldiers who were still alive ran away in different directions. Each man ran off by himself.
12 The Israelite people said to Samuel, ‘Bring to us those men who said, “We do not want Saul to rule over us.” We must kill them!’
13 Saul said, ‘No, you must not kill anyone today. It is the day when the Lord has rescued Israel's people.’
14 Samuel said to the people, ‘Now we will all go to Gilgal. We must all agree that Saul will continue to be our king.’ 15 So everyone went to Gilgal. They went to the place where they worshipped the Lord. They all agreed that Saul would be their king. They offered peace offerings to the Lord. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.
Footnotes
- 11:1 The Ammonites were the descendants of Ben-Ammi, who was the grandson of Lot. See Genesis 19:36-38. The Ammonites had attacked Israel in the past. See Judges 3:13; 11:4-32.
- 11:8 Judah was the most important Israelite tribe.
1 Samuel 11
Common English Bible
11 About a month later,[a] Nahash the Ammonite went up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we’ll be your servants.”
2 “I will make a treaty with you on one condition: that everyone’s right eye be gouged out!” Nahash the Ammonite said to them. “That’s how I bring humiliation on all Israel.”
3 The elders of Jabesh replied to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so we can send messengers thoughout Israel’s territory. If there’s no one to save us, then we’ll surrender to you.”
4 When the messengers reached Gibeah where Saul lived, they reported the news directly to the people there. Then they all wept aloud. 5 At just that moment, Saul was coming back from keeping the cattle in the fields. “What’s wrong with everybody?” he asked. “Why are they crying?” Saul was then told what the men from Jabesh had said.
6 God’s spirit came over Saul when he heard those words, and he burned with anger. 7 He took two oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout Israel’s territory. “This is exactly what will be done to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t come to the aid of Saul and Samuel,” he said. Great fear of the Lord came over the people, and they came to Saul completely unified.[b] 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the soldiers from Israel totaled three hundred thousand and those from Judah thirty thousand.
9 The messengers who had come were then told, “Say this to the people of Jabesh-gilead: Tomorrow by the time the sun is hot, you will be saved.” When the messengers returned and reported this to the people of Jabesh, they were overjoyed.
10 Then the people of Jabesh told the Ammonites, “We will surrender to you tomorrow. Then you can do whatever you want to us.”
11 The next day Saul organized his troops into three formations. They attacked the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. The survivors were so scattered that not even two of them could be found together.
12 Then people asked Samuel, “Who was it who said, ‘Will Saul rule over us?’ Give us those people; we’ll kill them!”
13 But Saul said, “No one will be executed because today the Lord has saved Israel.”
14 “Let’s go to Gilgal,” Samuel told the people, “and renew the monarchy there.” 15 So everyone went to Gilgal, and there at Gilgal they made Saul king in the Lord’s presence. They offered well-being sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration there.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 11:1 DSS (4QSama), LXX; MT lacks About a month later.
- 1 Samuel 11:7 MT lacks to Saul.
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