1 Samuel 11
11
Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh Gilead
1Nahash was the king of Ammon. He and his army went up to Jabesh Gilead. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. All the men of Jabesh spoke to Nahash. They said, “Make a peace treaty with us. Then we’ll be under your control.”
2Nahash, the king of Ammon, replied, “I will make a peace treaty with you. But I’ll do it only on one condition. You must let me put out the right eye of every one of you. I want to bring shame on the whole nation of Israel.”
3The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days to report back to you. We’ll send messengers all through Israel. If no one comes to save us, we’ll hand ourselves over to you.”
4The messengers came to Gibeah of Saul. They reported to the people the terms Nahash had required. Then all the people wept out loud. 5Just then Saul was coming in from the fields. He was walking behind his oxen. He asked, “What’s wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?” He was told what the men of Jabesh had said.
6When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully on him. He became very angry. 7He got a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. He sent the pieces by messengers all through Israel. They announced, “You must follow Saul and Samuel. If you don’t, this is what will happen to your oxen.” The terror of the Lord fell on the people. So all of them came together with one purpose in mind. 8Saul brought his army together at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 from Judah.
9The messengers who had come were told, “Go back and report to the men of Jabesh Gilead. Tell them, ‘By the hottest time of the day tomorrow, you will be rescued.’ ” The messengers went and reported it to the men of Jabesh. It made those men very happy. 10They said to the people of Ammon, “Tomorrow we’ll hand ourselves over to you. Then you can do to us whatever you like.”
11The next day Saul separated his men into three groups. While it was still dark, they broke into the camp of the Ammonite army. They kept killing the men of Ammon until the hottest time of the day. Those who got away were scattered. There weren’t two of them left together anywhere.
The People Agree to Have Saul as King
12The people said to Samuel, “Who asked, ‘Is Saul going to rule over us?’ Turn these men over to us. We’ll put them to death.”
13But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today! After all, this is the day the Lord has rescued Israel.”
14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come on. Let’s go to Gilgal. There we’ll agree again to have Saul as our king.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal. There, with the Lord as witness, they made Saul their king. There they sacrificed friendship offerings to the Lord. And there Saul and all the Israelites celebrated with great joy.
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1 Samuel 11: NIrV
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Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 11
11
1And Naḥash the Ammonite came up and camped against Yaḇĕsh Gil‛aḏ. And all the men of Yaḇĕsh said to Naḥash, “Make a covenant with us, and we shall serve you.”
2Then Naḥash the Ammonite answered them, “For this I make a covenant with you, that I dig out all your right eyes, and I shall bring reproach on all Yisra’ĕl.”
3And the elders of Yaḇĕsh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days, so that we send messengers to all the borders of Yisra’ĕl. And then, if there is no one to save us, we shall come out to you.”
4And the messengers came to Giḇ‛ah of Sha’ul and spoke the words in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5And look, Sha’ul was coming behind the herd from the field. And Sha’ul said, “Why are the people weeping?” And they related to him the words of the men of Yaḇĕsh.
6And the Spirit of Elohim came upon Sha’ul mightily as he heard these words, and his displeasure burned greatly.
7And he took a yoke of cattle and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the border of Yisra’ĕl by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Sha’ul and Shemu’ĕl to battle, let this be done to his cattle.” And the fear of יהוה fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
8And he mustered them in Bezeq, and the children of Yisra’ĕl were three hundred thousand, and the men of Yehuḏah thirty thousand.
9And they said to the messengers who came, “Say this to the men of Yaḇĕsh Gil‛aḏ, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and informed the men of Yaḇĕsh, and they rejoiced.
10So the men of Yaḇĕsh said, “Tomorrow we come out to you, and you shall do to us whatever seems good to you.”
11And it came to be, on the next day, that Sha’ul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck Ammon until the heat of the day. And it came to be that those left were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12And the people said to Shemu’ĕl, “Who said, ‘Shall Sha’ul reign over us?’ Bring the men, so that we put them to death.”
13But Sha’ul said, “No man is put to death this day, for today יהוה has wrought deliverance in Yisra’ĕl.”
14And Shemu’ĕl said to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the reign there.”
15And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they set up Sha’ul to reign before יהוה in Gilgal, and there they slaughtered slaughterings of peace offerings before יהוה. And there Sha’ul rejoiced, and all the men of Yisra’ĕl, very greatly.
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