1 Samuel 11
Revised Standard Version
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
11 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Ja′besh-gil′ead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “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, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus put disgrace upon 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 Gib′e-ah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people; and all the people wept aloud.
5 Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen; and Saul said, “What ails the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the spirit of God came mightily upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “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 as one man. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the men 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 Ja′besh-gil′ead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And on the morrow Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and cut down the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has wrought deliverance 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 Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
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
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.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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