1Sa 11-12 | ESV | STEP | Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh - gilead , and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash , Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.

1 ^aThen Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^bJabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, ^c“Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, ^dthat I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus ^ebring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to ^fGibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, ^gand all the people wept aloud.

5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 ^hAnd the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen ⁱand cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, ^j“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out ^kas one man. 8 When he mustered them at ^lBezek, ^mthe people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have ⁿsalvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, ^o“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 ^pAnd the next day Saul put the people ^qin three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Kingdom Is Renewed

12 Then the people said to Samuel, ^r“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^sBring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, ^t“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today ^uthe Lord has worked ^vsalvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to ^wGilgal, and there they made Saul king ^xbefore the Lord in Gilgal. There ^ythey sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

1 Samuel 12

Samuel’s Farewell Address

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^zyour voice in all that you have said to me ^aaand have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king ^abwalks before you, ^acand I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^adhis anointed. ^aeWhose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me} and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^aghis anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ^ahin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, ^ai“The Lord is witness, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness} who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 ^akWhen Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them} ^amthen your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^anthe Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^aowho brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But ^apthey forgot the Lord their God. ^aqAnd he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, ^{▼▼Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor} ^asand into the hand of the Philistines, ^atand into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 ^auAnd they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^avand have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^awdeliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent ^axJerubbaal ^ayand Barak ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan} ^baand Jephthah and ^bbSamuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that ^bcNahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^bdyou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^bewhen the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now ^bfbehold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^bgthe Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will ^bhfear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But ^biif you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^bjthe hand of the Lord will be against you and ^bkyour king. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew fathers} 16 Now therefore ^bmstand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 ^bnIs it not wheat harvest today? ^boI will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^bpyour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^bqand all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, ^br“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^bsdo not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And ^btdo not turn aside after ^buempty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 ^bvFor the Lord will not forsake his people, ^bwfor his great name’s sake, because ^bxit has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^byto pray for you, ^bzand I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 ^caOnly fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^cbwhat great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, ^ccyou shall be swept away, ^cdboth you and your king.”