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.”

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.

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.”

And 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.

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.”

And 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.

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;

Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.

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.

And, 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.

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

And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

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.

And 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.

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 he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

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;

And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To morrow, by [that time] the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed [it] to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.

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.”

Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto 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.

And 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.

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.”

And 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.

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

And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.

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

Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom 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.

And 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.