1 Samuel 11
11
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
1Now Nahash the #The Ammonites were descendants of Lot (Gen 19:36-38).Ammonite [king] went up and #This was a common military tactic used against a fortified (walled) city or garrison, to take it with a minimal loss of troops. All supplies and communication were cut off between the city and the outside world, in the hope of starving out the citizens or destroying their morale and will to resist.besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty [of peace] with us and we will serve you.” 2But Nahash the Ammonite told them, “I will make a treaty with you on this condition, that I will #Partially blinding a man made him almost useless as an enemy combatant or archer because it hampered his depth perception and limited his peripheral vision.gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and make it a disgrace upon all Israel.” 3The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Give us seven days so that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out [and surrender] to you.” 4#Nahash granted the request, even though the Israelites’ offer to submit to slavery (v 1) clearly indicated that they were in essence already defeated. Nahash undoubtedly believed that there was no formidable person to save Israel, and he wanted to see them willingly submit to the painful and debilitating mutilation that he had planned for them.Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news to the people; and all the people raised their voices and wept aloud.
5Now Saul was coming out of the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they are weeping?” So they told him about the report of the men of Jabesh. 6The Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became extremely angry. 7He took a team of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out [united] as one man [with one purpose]. 8He assembled and counted them at Bezek; and the sons of Israel numbered 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. 9They said to the messengers who had come, “You shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have #Lit deliverance.help [against the Ammonites].’ ” So the messengers came and reported this to the men of Jabesh; and they were overjoyed. 10So the men of Jabesh said [to Nahash the Ammonite], “Tomorrow we will come out to you [to surrender], and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11The next morning Saul put the men into three companies; and they entered the [Ammonites’] camp during the [darkness of the early] morning watch and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and the survivors were scattered, and no two of them were left together.
12The people said to Samuel, “Who is the one who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, and we will put them to death.” 13But Saul said, “No man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought #Lit deliverance.victory to Israel.”
14Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there restore the kingdom.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
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Amplified® Bible
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1 Samuel 11
11
1Nahash the Ammonite came with his army#11:1. “With his army”: added for clarity. and besieged Jabesh-gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to him, “Make a peace treaty with us, and we will be your subjects.”
2But Nahash the Ammonite responded, “I'll make a peace treaty with you on one condition: that I gouge out everyone's right eye to bring shame on all Israelites.”
3“Let us have seven days so we can send messengers all over Israel,” replied the town elders of Jabesh. “If no one comes to help us, we will surrender to you.”
4When the messengers arrived in the town called Gibeah of Saul and gave the message as the people listened, they all wept out loud.
5Right then Saul was coming back from plowing a field with his oxen. “Why is everyone so upset?” he asked. They told him what the men from Jabesh had said.
6The Spirit of God came on Saul in power when he heard about this, and he grew very angry. 7He took a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. Then he sent them by messenger to every part of Israel with the message, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” The Lord made the people anxious#11:7. “The Lord made the people anxious”: literally “The fear of the Lord fell on the people.” This could be interpreted either as the Lord being the source of the fear, or the object of fear. In any case the result is that the people support Saul. to do so, and they came out as one. 8When Saul counted them at Bezek, there were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.
9They said to the messengers who came, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow you'll be rescued, by the time the sun is hot.’” The people of Jabesh were so happy when the messengers arrived and told them this. 10They told the Ammonites, “We will surrender to you tomorrow, and then you can do to us whatever you want.”
11The next day Saul organized the army into three divisions. They attacked the Ammonite camp before dawn and went on killing them until the day grew hot. The survivors were so scattered that not even two of them were left together.
12Then the people asked Samuel, “Who was saying, ‘Why should we have Saul as our king?’ Hand these men over so we can execute them.”
13But Saul replied, “No one's going to be executed today, for this is the day that the Lord saved Israel.”
14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come with me—let's go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom.”
15Everyone went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king before the Lord. They sacrificed friendship offerings to the Lord, and Saul together with all the Israelites had a great celebration.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com