1 Samuel 11–13

Saul’s Deliverance of Jabesh-gilead

11Nahash ^ghthe Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. ⁱAll the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty ^jwith us, and we will serve you.”

²Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye ^kand humiliate all Israel.” ^l

³“Don’t do anything to us for seven days,” the elders of Jabesh said to him, “and let us send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If no one saves us, we will surrender to you.”

⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah, ^mSaul’s hometown, and told the terms to ⁿthe people, all wept aloud. ^o5Just then Saul was coming in from the field behind his oxen. “What’s the matter with the people? Why are they weeping?” Saul inquired, and they repeated to him the words of the men from Jabesh.

⁶When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God suddenly took control of him, ^pand his anger burned furiously. ⁷He took a team of oxen, cut them in pieces, ^qand sent them throughout the land of Israel by messengers who said, “This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn’t march behind Saul and Samuel.” ^rAs a result, the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out united. ^s

⁸Saul counted them at Bezek. ^tThere were 300,000 ^uvIsraelites and 30,000 ^wmen from Judah. ⁹He told the messengers who had come, “Tell this to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’ ” So the messengers told the men of Jabesh, and they rejoiced.

¹⁰Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do whatever you want ^xto us.”

¹¹The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions. ^yDuring the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

Saul’s Confirmation as King

¹²Afterward, the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not ^zreign over us? ^aGive us those men so we can kill them!” ^b

¹³But Saul ordered, “No one will be executed this day, for today the Lord has provided deliverance in Israel.” ^c

¹⁴Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal, so we can renew the kingship there.” ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence ^dthey made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings ^ein the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel greatly rejoiced.

Samuel’s Final Public Speech

12Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you. ^f2Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until today. ³Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? ^gWhom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something? ^hijI will return it to you.”

⁴“You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone’s hand,” they responded.

⁵He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything ^kin my hand.” ^l

“He is a witness,” they said.

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron ^mand who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness. ⁿ⁷Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts He has done for you and your ancestors.

⁸“When Jacob went to Egypt, ^oyour ancestors cried out to the Lord, ^pand He sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ^q9But they forgot the Lord their God, so He handed them over to Sisera ^rcommander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. ^sThese enemies fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the power of our enemies, ^tand we will serve You.’ ¹¹So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, ^uBarak, ^vwJephthah, ^xand Samuel. ^yHe rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. ¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king rule over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.

¹³“Now here is the king you’ve chosen, ^zthe one you requested. ^aLook, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. ¹⁴If you fear the Lord, ^bworship and obey Him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who rules over you will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵However, if you disobey the Lord ^cand rebel against His command, the Lord’s hand will be against you ^dand against your ancestors. ^ef

¹⁶“Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. ^g17Isn’t the wheat harvest today? ^hI will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.” ⁱ¹⁸Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. ^j

¹⁹They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, ^kso we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.” ^l

²⁰Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. ^mInstead, worship the Lord with all your heart. ²¹Don’t turn away to follow worthless ⁿthings that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless. ^o22The Lord will not abandon His people, ^pbecause of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people. ^q

²³“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. ^rI will teach you the good and right way. ²⁴Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things He has done for you. ^s25However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.” ^t

Saul’s Failure

13Saul was 30 years ^uold when he became king, and he reigned 42 years ^vover Israel. ^w2He chose 3,000 men from Israel for himself: 2,000 were with Saul at Michmash ^xand in Bethel’s hill country, and 1,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah ^yof Benjamin. He sent the rest of the troops away, each to his own tent.

³Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison ^zathat was in Geba, ^band the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land ^csaying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ^de4And all Israel heard the news, “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, ^fand Israel is now repulsive to the Philistines.” Then the troops were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵The Philistines also gathered to fight against Israel: 3,000 ^gchariots, 6,000 horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. ^hThey went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven. ^ij

⁶The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns. ^k7Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. ⁸He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, ^lbut Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. ⁹So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering.

¹⁰Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him, ¹¹and Samuel asked, “What have you done?”

Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn’t come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, ¹²I thought: The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t sought the Lord’s favor. So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”

¹³Samuel said to Saul, “You have been foolish. ^mYou have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave you. ⁿIt was at this time that the Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel, ^o14but now your reign will not endure. ^pThe Lord has found a man loyal to Him, ^qrand the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded.” ¹⁵Then Samuel went ^sfrom Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul registered the troops who were with him, about 600 men.

¹⁶Saul, his son Jonathan, and the troops who were with them were staying in Geba ^tof Benjamin, and the Philistines were camped at Michmash. ¹⁷Raiding parties ^uwent out from the Philistine camp in three divisions. One division headed toward the Ophrah ^vroad leading to the land of Shual. ¹⁸The next division headed toward the Beth-horon ^wroad, and the last division headed down the border road that looks out over the Valley of Zeboim ^xtoward the wilderness.

¹⁹No blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, ^ybecause the Philistines had said, “Otherwise, the Hebrews will make swords or spears.” ²⁰So all the Israelites went to the Philistines to sharpen their plows, mattocks, axes, and sickles. ^z21The price was two-thirds of a shekel ^afor plows and mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for pitchforks and axes, and for putting a point on an oxgoad. ²²So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops who were with Saul ^band Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

Jonathan’s Victory over the Philistines

²³Now a Philistine garrison ^ctook control of the pass at Michmash.