1 Samuel 11:1–27:12

Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh

11 Nahasha k the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.l And all the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treatym with us, and we will be subject to you.”

2 But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the conditionn that I gougeo out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgracep on all Israel.”

3 The eldersq of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescuer us, we will surrenders to you.”

4 When the messengers came to Gibeaht of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all weptu aloud. 5 Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, “What is wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?” Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

6 When Saul heard their words, the Spiritv of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger. 7 He took a pair of oxen,w cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel,x proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyoney who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one.z 8 When Saul mustereda them at Bezek,b the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and those of Judah thirty thousand.

9 They told the messengers who had come, “Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be rescued.’ ” When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated. 10 They said to the Ammonites, “Tomorrow we will surrenderc to you, and you can do to us whatever you like.”

11 The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions;d during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonitese and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

Saul Confirmed as King

12 The people then said to Samuel, “Whof was it that asked, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Turn these men over to us so that we may put them to death.”

13 But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today,g for this day the Lord has rescuedh Israel.”

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgali and there renew the kingship.j” 15 So all the people went to Gilgalk and made Saul kingl in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.

Samuel’s Farewell Speech

12 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listenedm to everything you said to me and have set a kingn over you. 2 Now you have a king as your leader.o As for me, I am old and gray, and my sonsp are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3 Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed.q Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkeyr have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribes to make me shut my eyes? If I have donet any of these things, I will make it right.”u

4 “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

5 Samuel said to them, “The Lord is witnessv against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anythingw in my hand.x”

“He is witness,” they said.

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and broughty your ancestors up out of Egypt. 7 Now then, standz here, because I am going to confronta you with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous actsb performed by the Lord for you and your ancestors.

8 “After Jacobc entered Egypt, they criedd to the Lord for help, and the Lord sente Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

9 “But they forgotf the Lord their God; so he sold themg into the hand of Sisera,h the commander of the army of Hazor,i and into the hands of the Philistinesj and the king of Moab,k who fought against them. 10 They criedl out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsakenm the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths.n But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal,a o Barak,b p Jephthahq and Samuel,c r and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.

12 “But when you saw that Nahashs kingt of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to ruleu over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the kingv you have chosen, the one you askedw for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you fearx the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebely against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15 But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel againstz his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

16 “Now then, stand stilla and seeb this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvestc now? I will calld on the Lord to send thundere and rain.f And you will realize what an evilg thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.”

18 Then Samuel called on the Lord,h and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awei of the Lord and of Samuel.

19 The people all said to Samuel, “Prayj to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die,k for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”

20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil;l yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Do not turn away after uselessm idols.n They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22 For the sakeo of his great namep the Lord will not rejectq his people, because the Lord was pleased to maker you his own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to prays for you. And I will teacht you the way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to fearu the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart;v considerw what greatx things he has done for you. 25 Yet if you persisty in doing evil, both you and your kingz will perish.”a

Samuel Rebukes Saul

13 Saul was thirtya years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-b two years.

2 Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousandb were with him at Mikmashc and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeahd in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outposte at Geba,f and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpetg blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxioush to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

5 The Philistines assembledi to fight Israel, with three thousandc chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sandj on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash,k east of Beth Aven.l 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hidm in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.n 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gado and Gilead.

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quakingp with fear. 8 He waited sevenq days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offeredr up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuels arrived, and Saul went out to greett him.

11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash,u 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,v and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.w’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

13 “You have done a foolish thing,x” Samuel said. “You have not kepty the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.z 14 But now your kingdoma will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heartb and appointedc him rulerd of his people, because you have not kepte the Lord’s command.”

15 Then Samuel left Gilgald and went up to Gibeahf in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.g

Israel Without Weapons

16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeahe h in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raidingi parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrahj in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon,k and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyiml facing the wilderness.

19 Not a blacksmithm could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!n” 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sicklesf sharpened. 21 The price was two-thirds of a shekelg for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekelh for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.

22 So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathano had a sword or spearp in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Jonathan Attacks the Philistines

23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the passq at Mikmash.r

14 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine …