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.”

Temptations to Sin

17 And he said to his disciples, ^(A)“Temptations to sin^[a] are ^(B)sure to come, but ^(C)woe to the one through whom they come! ^2 (D)It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.^{[b] 3} Pay attention to yourselves! ^(E)If your brother sins, ^(F)rebuke him, and if he repents, ^(G)forgive him, ⁴ and if he sins against you ^(H)seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Increase Our Faith

^5 (I)The apostles said to the Lord, ^(J)“Increase our faith!” ⁶ And the Lord said, ^(K)“If you had faith like ^(L)a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this ^(M)mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Unworthy Servants

⁷ “Will any one of you who has a servant^[c] plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? ⁸ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and ^(N)dress properly,^[d] and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? ⁹ Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are ^(O)unworthy servants;^[e] we have only done what was our duty.’”

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers

^11 (P)On the way to Jerusalem ^(Q)he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,^{[f] (R)}who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and ^(S)show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, ^(T)praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and ^(U)he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was ^(V)a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ^(W)ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and ^(X)give praise to God except this ^(Y)foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; ^(Z)your faith has ^(AA)made you well.”^[g]