1 Samuel 11–13

Saul Defeats the Ammonites

11Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us^a and we will serve you.” ²But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty^b with you, by gouging out the right eye of each of you, so that I can make it a disgrace for all Israel.” ³So the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Leave us alone for seven days so that we may send messengers in all the territory of Israel, and if there is no deliverer for us, then we will come out to you.” ⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported these things to^c the people. Then all the people lifted up their voices and wept. ⁵Just then,^d Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, “What is the matter with the people, that they are weeping?” So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

⁶Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry.^{e 7}So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever is not going out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen.” Then the fear of Yahweh fell on the people and they went out as one man. ⁸He mustered them at Bezek; the Israelites^f were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah were thirty thousand. ⁹They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you will say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow deliverance for you will come when the sun is hot.’ ”^g When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced. ¹⁰The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.”^{h 11}And theⁱ next day Saul placed the people in three divisions. Then they came into the middle of the camp at the early morning watch^j and struck down the Ammonites^k until the heat of the day. It happened that the remainder were scattered so that no two among them remained together.^{l 12}Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is the one who asked, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Give the men to us that we may kill them.” ¹³But Saul said, “No one will be put to death on this day, because today^m Yahweh has provided deliverance in Israel.”

¹⁴Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there.” ¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal and they made Saul king there before Yahweh in Gilgal. They sacrificed fellowship offerings there before Yahweh. Then Saul rejoiced there greatly along with all the men of Israel.

Samuel’s Charge to Israel

12Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Look, I have listened to your voice regarding all that you have said to me, so I have set a king over you. ²And so then here is the king walking about before you. Now I am old and gray, but my sons (look at them!) are with you; and I have walked about before you from my youth until this day. ³Here I am! Testify against me before Yahweh and before his anointed one! Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, that I may shut my eyes regarding^a him?—then I will restore it to you.” ⁴Then they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, and you have not taken anything from the hand of anyone.” ⁵So he said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and his anointed one is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.” Then they said, “He is witness.” ⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “Yahweh is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your ancestors^b up from the land of Egypt. ⁷So then take your stand, so that I may judge you before Yahweh with regard to all the deeds of justice^c of Yahweh that he performed with both you and your ancestors.^d

⁸“When Jacob came to Egypt, your ancestors^e cried out to Yahweh, so he sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought your ancestors^f out from Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹But they forgot Yahweh their God, so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the hosts of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰So they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served the Baals^g and the Ashtoreths.^h But now deliver us from the hand of our enemies and we will serve you!’ ¹¹So Yahweh sent Jerub-Baal and Bedanⁱ and Jephthah and Samuel. Then he delivered you from the hand of your enemies all around, and you lived in security.

¹²“And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites,^j was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king shall reign over us,’ although Yahweh your God is your king. ¹³So then look! Here is the king you have chosen, for whom you have asked! Look, Yahweh has placed a king over you! ¹⁴If you will fear Yahweh, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not be rebellious against what Yahweh says,^k and both you and the king who rules over you will follow after Yahweh your God, all will be well. ¹⁵But, if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh, and you rebel against what Yahweh says,^l then the hand of Yahweh will be against you^m as it was against your ancestors.^{n 16}So then take your stand again and see this great thing that Yahweh is going to do before your eyes. ¹⁷Is the wheat harvest not today? I will call out to Yahweh so that he still sends thunder and rain, so that you will know and will see that your wickedness is great that you have done in the eyes of Yahweh by asking for a king for yourselves.”

¹⁸So Samuel called out to Yahweh, and Yahweh brought thunder and rain that same day, so all the people feared Yahweh and Samuel greatly. ¹⁹Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God so that we will not die, because we have added to all our sins by requesting a king for ourselves.” ²⁰And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear! You have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from following^o Yahweh. But you must serve Yahweh with all your heart. ²¹And do not turn aside after the triviality,^p which have no value and cannot deliver, for they are triviality. ²²For Yahweh will not forsake his people for the sake of his great name, because Yahweh has decided to make you his own people. ²³Also, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin^q against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the good and righteous way. ²⁴Only fear Yahweh and serve him faithfully with all of your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.^{r 25}But if you continue to do wickedness, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Saul Rules over Israel

13Saul was thirty^a years old^b at the beginning of his reign, and he reigned forty-two years^c over Israel. ²He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent. ³Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” ⁴And all Israel did hear, saying, “Saul has defeated the garrison of the Philistines; and also, Israel has become a stench among the Philistines!” So the people were called out after Saul at Gilgal.

Saul’s Blunder

⁵And the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and an army as numerous as sand which is on the seashore. And they came up and encamped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.

⁶When the men of Israel saw that it was too difficult^d for them, because the army was hard pressed, the people hid themselves in the caves, in the thorn bushes, in the cliffs, in the vaults^e and in the wells. ⁷Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the army followed him trembling.^{f 8}He waited seven days according to the appointed time Samuel determined, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army started to slip away from him.^{g 9}So Saul said, “Bring here to me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered up the burnt offering. ¹⁰Just as^h he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Samuel was coming. So Saul went out to meet him and to bless him. ¹¹But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Because I saw that the army was scatteringⁱ from me and you did not come at the appointed time^j and that the Philistines had gathered at Micmash, ¹²therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not yet implored the face of Yahweh.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.”

¹³Then Samuel said to Saul, “You have behaved foolishly! You have not kept the command of Yahweh your God which he commanded you. For then, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you.”

¹⁵Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men. ¹⁶Saul and Jonathan his son and the army that remained with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines encamped at Micmash. ¹⁷The raiders^k went out from the camp of the Philistines in three divisions. One division turned on the road^l to Ophrah toward the land of Shual. ¹⁸One division turned on the road^m to Beth Horon, and one turned on the roadⁿ toward the border overlooking the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹Now no skilled craftsman could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, “So that the…