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.

Greeting

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, ^(A)called to be an apostle, ^(B)separated to the gospel of God ^2 (C)which He promised before ^(D)through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who ^[a]was ^(E)born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and ^(F)declared to be the Son of God with power according ^(G)to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. ⁵ Through Him ^(H)we have received grace and apostleship for ^(I)obedience to the faith among all nations ^(J)for His name, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, ^(K)called to be saints:

^(L)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Desire to Visit Rome

⁸ First, ^(M)I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that ^(N)your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. ⁹ For ^(O)God is my witness, ^(P)whom I serve ^[b]with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that ^(Q)without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, ¹⁰ making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you, that ^(R)I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by ^(S)the mutual faith both of you and me.

¹³ Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but ^(T)was hindered until now), that I might have some ^(U)fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ¹⁵ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

The Just Live by Faith

¹⁶ For ^(V)I am not ashamed of the gospel ^[c]of Christ, for ^(W)it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, ^(X)for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For ^(Y)in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ^(Z)“The just shall live by faith.”