1 Samuel 11
11
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
1Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Ja´besh–gil´e-ad: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. 2And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. 3And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. 4Then came the messengers to Gib´e-ah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
5And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field: and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 6And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. 7And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. 8And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Ja´besh–gil´e-ad, Tomorrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10Therefore the men of Jabesh said, Tomorrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. 11And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
12And the people said unto Samuel, Who is he that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death. 13And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for today the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel. 14Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 15And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
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1 Samuel 11: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 11
11
Nahash Troubles Jabesh Gilead
1About a month later Nahash the Ammonite and his army surrounded the city of Jabesh in Gilead. All the people of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us. And we will serve you.”
2But he answered, “I will make a treaty with you. But I will only do it if I’m allowed to tear out the right eye of each of you. Then all Israel will be ashamed!”
3The elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Let us have seven days. We will send messengers through all Israel. If no one comes to help us, we will give ourselves up to you.”
4The messengers came to Gibeah where Saul lived. When they told the people the news, the people cried loudly. 5Saul had finished plowing in the fields with his oxen. He was coming home when he heard the people crying. He asked, “What’s wrong with the people? Why are they crying?” Then they told Saul what the messengers from Jabesh had said. 6When Saul heard their words, God’s Spirit entered him with power. Saul became very angry. 7So he took a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. Then he gave the pieces of the oxen to messengers. He ordered them to carry the pieces through all the land of Israel.
The messengers made an announcement to the people. They said, “This is what will happen to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” So the people became very afraid of the Lord. They all came together as if they were one person. 8Saul gathered the people together at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 men from Judah.
9They spoke to the messengers who had come. They said, “Tell the people at Jabesh Gilead this: ‘Before the day becomes hot tomorrow, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and reported this to the people at Jabesh. They were very happy. 10The people said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you. Then you can do anything you want to us.”
11The next morning Saul divided his soldiers into three groups. At dawn they entered the Ammonite camp. And they defeated the Ammonites before the heat of the day. The Ammonites who were left alive were scattered. Not even two of them were still together.
12Then the people said to Samuel, “Who was it that didn’t want Saul as king? Bring them here, and we will kill them!”
13But Saul said, “No! No one will be put to death today. The Lord has saved Israel today!”
14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. At Gilgal we will again promise to obey the king.” 15All the people went to Gilgal. And there, before the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all the Israelites had a great celebration.
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