1 Samuel 11:1–31:13
11 Then aNahash the Ammonite came up and 1encamped against bJabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, c“Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.”
2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring dreproach on all Israel.”
3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to 2save us, we will come out to you.”
4 So the messengers came eto Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And fall the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the people, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 gThen the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7 So he took a yoke of oxen and hcut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, i“Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.”
And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out 3with one consent. 8 When he numbered them in jBezek, the children kof Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us whatever seems good to you.”
11 So it was, on the next day, that lSaul put the people min three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, n“Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ oBring the men, that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, p“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today qthe Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go rto Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king sbefore the Lord in Gilgal. tThere they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Samuel’s Address at Saul’s Coronation
12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have 1heeded ayour voice in all that you said to me, and bhave made a king over you. 2 And now here is the king, cwalking before you; dand I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before eHis anointed: fWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any gbribe with which to hblind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4 And they said, i“You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”
5 Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, jthat you have not found anything kin my hand.”
And they answered, “He is witness.”
6 Then Samuel said to the people, l“It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore, stand still, that I may mreason with you before the Lord concerning all the nrighteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: 8 oWhen Jacob had gone into 2Egypt, and your fathers pcried out to the Lord, then the Lord qsent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they rforgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of sSisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the tPhilistines, and into the hand of the king of uMoab; and they fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, v‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord wand served the Baals and 3Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 And the Lord sent 4Jerubbaal, 5Bedan, xJephthah, and ySamuel, 6and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 And when you saw that zNahash king of the Ammonites came against you, ayou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when bthe Lord your God was your king.
13 “Now therefore, chere is the king dwhom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, ethe Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you ffear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. 15 However, if you do gnot obey the voice of the Lord, but hrebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 “Now therefore, istand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes: 17 Is today not the jwheat harvest? kI will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and lrain, that you may perceive and see that myour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.”
18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and nall the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19 And all the people said to Samuel, o“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”
20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; pyet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And qdo not turn aside; rfor then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 22 For sthe Lord will not forsake tHis people, ufor His great name’s sake, because vit has pleased the Lord to make you His people. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord win ceasing to pray for you; but xI will teach you the ygood and the right way. 24 zOnly fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for aconsider what bgreat things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, cyou shall be swept away, dboth you and your king.”
13 Saul 1reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in aMichmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with bJonathan in cGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan attacked dthe garrison of the Philistines that was in eGeba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 4 Now all Israel heard it said that Saul had attacked a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel had also become 2an abomination to the Philistines. And the people were called together to Saul at Gilgal.
5 Then the Philistines gathered together to fight with Israel, 3thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people fas the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of gBeth Aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), then the people hhid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. 7 And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the iland of Gad and Gilead.
As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. 8 jThen he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might 4greet him.
11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
13 And Samuel said to Saul, k“You have done foolishly. lYou have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 mBut now your kingdom shall not continue. nThe Lord has sought for Himself a man oafter His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have pnot kept what the Lord commanded you.”
15 Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of 5Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, qabout six hundred men.
16 Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in 6Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to rOphrah, to the land of Shual, 18 another company turned to the road to sBeth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of tZeboim toward the wilderness.
19 Now uthere was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make swords or …