1 Samuel - The Old Testament

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

² Nahash the Ammonite replied, 'I shall make a treaty with you only on this condition, that I put out all your right eyes, and I will 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 throughout the territory of Israel, and if no one comes to our help, we will come out to you.'

⁴ The messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, and reported this to the people, and all the people wept aloud.

⁵ Now Saul was just then coming in from the fields behind his oxen, and he said, 'What is wrong? Why are 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 fell into a fury.

⁷ He took a yoke of oxen, cut them into pieces and sent these by messengers throughout the territory of Israel with these words, 'Anyone who will not march with Saul will have the same done to his oxen!' At this, a panic 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 of Judah.

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

¹⁰ they said to Nahash, 'Tomorrow we shall 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 camp during the dawn watch and slaughtered the Ammonites until high noon. The survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

¹² The people then said to Samuel, 'Who said, "Must we have Saul reigning over us?" Hand the men over, 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 all went to Gilgal. And there, at Gilgal, they proclaimed Saul king before Yahweh; they offered communion sacrifices before Yahweh, and there Saul and all the people of Israel gave themselves over to great rejoicing.