1 Kings 11
11
1And it came to pass about a month after this that Naas, the Ammonite came up, and began to fight against Jabes Galaad. And all the men of Jabes said to Naas: Make a covenant with us; and we will serve thee.
2And Naas the Ammonite answered them: On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may pluck out all your right eyes, and make you a reproach in all Israel.
3And the ancients of Jabes said to him: Allow us seven days, that we may send messengers to all the coasts of Israel; and if there be no one to defend us; we will come out to thee.
4The messengers therefore came to Gabaa of Saul: and they spoke these words in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
5And, behold, Saul came, following oxen out of the field, and he said: What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabes.
6And the spirit of the Lord came upon Saul, when he had heard these words; and his anger was exceedingly kindled.
7And taking both the oxen, he cut them in pieces, and sent them into all the coasts of Israel by messengers, saying: Whosoever shall not come forth, and follow Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and they went out as one man.
8And he numbered them in Bezec. And there were of the children of Israel three hundred thousand: and of the men of Juda thirty thousand.
9And they said to the messengers that came: Thus shall you say to the men of Jabes Galaad: To-morrow, when the sun shall be hot, you shall have relief. The messengers therefore came, and told the men of Jabes; and they were glad.
10And they said: In the morning we will come out to you; and you shall do what you please with us.
11And it came to pass, when the morrow was come that Saul put the people in three companies. And he came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch; and he slew the Ammonites until the day grew hot. And the rest were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
12And the people said to Samuel: Who is he that said: Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men and we will kill them.
13And Saul said: No man shall be killed this day, because the Lord this day hath wrought salvation in Israel.
14And Samuel said to the people: Come and let us go to Galgal, and let us renew the kingdom there.
15And all the people went to Galgal. And there they made Saul king before the Lord in Galgal; and they sacrificed there victims of peace before the Lord. And there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced exceedingly
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 11: DRC1752
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Samuel 11
11
Saul Rescues the Town of Jabesh in Gilead
1About this time,#10.27—11.1 But Saul … time: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls add “King Nahash of Ammon was making the people of Gad and Reuben miserable. He was poking out everyone's right eye, and no one in Israel could stop him. He had poked out the right eye of every Israelite man who lived east of the Jordan River. Only 7,000 men had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had gone into the town of Jabesh in Gilead. About a month later.” King Nahash of Ammon came with his army and surrounded the town of Jabesh in Gilead. The people who lived there told Nahash, “If you will sign a peace treaty with us, you can be our ruler, and we will pay taxes to you.”
2Nahash answered, “Sure, I'll sign a treaty! But not before I insult Israel by poking out the right eye of every man who lives in Jabesh.”
3The town leaders said, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers everywhere in Israel to ask for help. If no one comes here to save us, we will surrender to you.”
4Some of the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul's hometown. They told what was happening at Jabesh, and everyone in Gibeah started crying. 5Just then, Saul came in from the fields, walking behind his oxen.
“Why is everyone crying?” Saul asked.
They told him what the men from Jabesh had said. 6Then the Spirit of God suddenly took control of Saul and made him furious. 7Saul killed two of his oxen, cut them up in pieces, and gave the pieces to the#11.7 the: Or “some other.” messengers. He told them to show the pieces to everyone in Israel and say, “Saul and Samuel are getting an army together. Come and join them. If you don't, this is what will happen to your oxen!”
The Lord made the people of Israel terribly afraid. So all the men came together 8at Bezek. Saul had them organized and counted. There were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000#11.8 300,000 … 30,000: The Dead Sea Scrolls and some ancient translations have different numbers. from Judah.
9Saul and his officers sent the messengers back to Jabesh with this promise: “We will rescue you tomorrow afternoon.” The messengers went back to the people at Jabesh and told them that they were going to be rescued.
Everyone was encouraged! 10So they told the Ammonites, “We will surrender to you tomorrow, and then you can do whatever you want to.”
11The next day, Saul divided his army into three groups and attacked before daylight. They started killing Ammonites and kept it up until afternoon. A few Ammonites managed to escape, but they were scattered far from each other.
12The Israelite soldiers went to Samuel and demanded, “Where are the men who said they didn't want Saul to be king? Bring them to us, and we will put them to death!”
13“No you won't!” Saul told them. “The Lord rescued Israel today, and no one will be put to death.”
Saul Is Accepted as King
14“Come on!” Samuel said. “Let's go to Gilgal and make an agreement that Saul will continue to be our king.”
15Everyone went to the place of worship at Gilgal, where they agreed that Saul would be their king. Saul and the people sacrificed animals to ask for the Lord's blessing,#11.15 sacrificed … blessing: This kind of sacrifice is described in Leviticus 3; 7.11-36; 19.5-8. People who offered these sacrifices were allowed to eat most of the meat, and they could invite others to share it with them. and they had a big celebration.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.