1 Samuel 11

1 And Nahash the Ammonite comes up, and encamps against Jabesh-Gilead, and all the men of Jabesh say to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we serve you.”

Soon Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”

2 And Nahash the Ammonite says to them, “For this I cut [a covenant] with you, in picking out every right eye of yours—and I have set it [for] a reproach on all Israel.”

But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.”

3 And [the] elderly of Jabesh say to him, “Leave us alone [for] seven days, and we send messengers into all the border of Israel: and if there is none saving us—then we have come out to you.”

“Hold off for seven days,” replied the elders of Jabesh, “and let us send messengers throughout Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you.”

4 And the messengers come to Gibeah of Saul, and speak the words in the ears of the people, and all the people lift up their voice and weep;

When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.

5 and behold, Saul has come out of the field after the herd, and Saul says, “What [is that] to the people, that they weep?” And they recount the words of the men of Jabesh to him.

Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.

6 And the Spirit of God prospers over Saul, in his hearing these words, and his anger burns greatly,

When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.

7 and he takes a couple of oxen, and cuts them in pieces, and sends [them] through all the border of Israel, by the hand of the messengers, saying, “He who is not coming out after Saul and after Samuel—thus it is done to his oxen”; and the fear of YHWH falls on the people, and they come out as one man.

He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the LORD fell upon the people, and they turned out as one man.

8 And he inspects them in Bezek, and the sons of Israel are three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.

9 And they say to the messengers who are coming, “Thus you say to the men of Jabesh-Gilead: Tomorrow you have safety—by the heat of the sun”; and the messengers come and declare [it] to the men of Jabesh, and they rejoice;

So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” And when the messengers relayed this to the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced.

10 and the men of Jabesh say [to the Ammonites], “Tomorrow we come out to you, and you have done to us according to all that [is] good in your eyes.”

Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do with us whatever seems good to you.”

11 And it comes to pass, on the next day, that Saul puts the people in three detachments, and they come into the midst of the camp in the morning-watch, and strike Ammon until the heat of the day; and it comes to pass that those left are scattered, and there have not been left two of them together.

The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

12 And the people say to Samuel, “Who is he that says, Saul reigns over us? Give up the men, and we put them to death.”

Then the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not reign over us? Bring those men here so we can kill them!”

13 And Saul says, “There is no man put to death on this day, for today YHWH has worked salvation in Israel.”

But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”

14 And Samuel says to the people, “Come and we go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there”;

Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.”

15 and all the people go to Gilgal, and cause Saul to reign there before YHWH in Gilgal, and sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings there before YHWH, and Saul rejoices there—and all the men of Israel—very greatly.

So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.