1 Samuel 11

¹ About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite marched up and laid siege to Jabesh in Gilead. Al themen of Jabesh said to Nahash, 'Make a treaty with us and we wil be your subjects.'

² Nahash the Ammonite replied, 'I shal make a treaty with you only on this condition, that I put out alyour right eyes, and I wil make it a taunt to the whole of Israel.'

³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, 'Give us seven days' grace while we send messengers throughoutthe territory of Israel, and if no one comes to our help, we wil come out to you.'

⁴ The messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and reported this to the people, and al the people weptaloud.

⁵ Now Saul was just then coming in from the fields behind his oxen, and he said, 'What is wrong? Whyare the people weeping?' They explained to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

⁶ And the spirit of Yahweh seized on Saul when he heard these words, and he fel into a fury.

⁷ He took a yoke of oxen, cut them into pieces and sent these by messengers throughout the territory ofIsrael with these words, 'Anyone who wil not march with Saul wil have the same done to his oxen!' At this, apanic from Yahweh swept on the people and they marched out as one man.

⁸ Saul inspected them at Bezek; there were three hundred thousand of Israel and thirty thousand ofJudah.

⁹ Then he said to the messengers who had come, 'This is what you are to say to the people of Jabeshin Gilead, "Tomorrow, by the time that the sun is hot, help wil reach you." ' The messengers went and reportedthis to the people of Jabesh who were overjoyed;

¹⁰ they said to Nahash, 'Tomorrow we shal come out to you and you can do whatever you like to us.'

¹¹ The next day, Saul disposed the army in three contingents, which burst into the middle of the campduring the dawn watch and slaughtered the Ammonites until high noon. The survivors were so scattered that notwo of them were left together.

¹² The people then said to Samuel, 'Who said, "Must we have Saul reigning over us?" Hand the menover, for us to put them to death.'

¹³ 'No one must be put to death today,' Saul said, 'for today Yahweh has intervened to rescue Israel.'

¹⁴ Samuel then said to the people, 'Let us now go to Gilgal and reaffirm the monarchy there.'

¹⁵ The people then al went to Gilgal. And there, at Gilgal, they proclaimed Saul king before Yahweh;they offered communion sacrifices before Yahweh, and there Saul and al the people of Israel gave themselvesover to great rejoicing.