Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11 Now ^(A)Nahash the Ammonite came up and ^[a]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, thus I will make it ^(E)a reproach on all Israel.” ^3 (F)The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver 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)lifted up their voices and wept.

⁵ Now behold, Saul was coming from the field ^(I)behind the oxen, and ^[b]he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. ⁶ Then ^(J)the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and ^[c]he became very angry. ⁷ He 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, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out ^(M)as one man. ⁸ He ^[d]numbered them in ^(N)Bezek; and the ^(O)sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. ⁹ They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. ¹⁰ Then the men of Jabesh said, “^(P)Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good ^[e]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 down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were 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?’ ^[f](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 accomplished deliverance 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.

Zayin.

Paul before Festus

25 Festus then, having arrived in ^(A)the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from ^(B)Caesarea. ² And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews ^(C)brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, ³ requesting a ^[a]concession against ^[b]Paul, that he might ^[c]have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, ^(D)setting an ambush to kill him on the way). ⁴ Festus then ^(E)answered that Paul ^(F)was being kept in custody at ^(G)Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. ⁵ “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you ^[d]go there with me, and if there is anything wrong ^[e]about the man, let them ^[f]prosecute him.”

⁶ After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to ^(H)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on ^(I)the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. ⁷ After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing ^(J)many and serious charges against him ^(K)which they could not prove, ⁸ while Paul said in his own defense, “^(L)I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” ⁹ But Festus, ^(M)wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “^(N)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and ^[g]stand trial before me on these charges?” ¹⁰ But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s ^(O)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. ¹¹ If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I ^(P)appeal to Caesar.” ¹² Then when Festus had conferred with ^[h]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”

¹³ Now when several days had elapsed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at ^(Q)Caesarea ^[i]and paid their respects to Festus. ¹⁴ While they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was ^(R)left as a prisoner by Felix; ¹⁵ and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews ^(S)brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. ¹⁶ I ^(T)answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before ^(U)the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. ¹⁷ So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on ^(V)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought before me. ¹⁸ When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, ¹⁹ but they simply had some ^(W)points of disagreement with him about their own ^[j](X)religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. ^20 (Y)Being at a loss how to investigate ^[k]such matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters. ²¹ But when Paul ^(Z)appealed to be held in custody for ^[l]the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” ²² Then ^(AA)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”

Paul before Agrippa

²³ So, on the next day when ^(AB)Agrippa came ^[m]together with ^(AC)Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the auditorium ^[n]accompanied by the ^[o]commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. ²⁴ Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom ^(AD)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that ^(AE)he ought not to live any longer. ²⁵ But I found that he had committed ^(AF)nothing worthy of death; and since he himself ^(AG)appealed to ^[p]the Emperor, I decided to send him. ^26 [q]Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. ²⁷ For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”