1 Samuel 11-12New King James Version (NKJV)
Saul Saves Jabesh Gilead
11 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped
against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “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 reproach 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 save us, we will
come out to you.”
4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of
Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all 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 Then
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
cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory
of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “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 with one consent. 8 When he numbered
them in Bezek, the children of 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
Saul put the people in 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,
“Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the
men, that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be
put to death this day, for today the Lord has accomplished salvation
in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people,
“Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So
all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before
the Lord in Gilgal. There 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
heeded your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over
you. 2 And now here is the king, walking before
you; and 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 His anointed:
Whose 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 bribe
with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4 And they said, “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, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
And they answered, “He is witness.”
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “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 reason with you before
the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of
the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: 8 When
Jacob had gone into Egypt,[a] and your fathers cried
out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought
your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 And
when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of
Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and
into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10 Then
they cried out to the Lord, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have
forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and Ashtoreths;[b] but now deliver us
from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 And
the Lord sent Jerubbaal,[c] Bedan,[d]Jephthah, and Samuel,[e] and delivered you out
of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 And
when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to
me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the Lord your
God was your king.
13 “Now therefore, here is the king
whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note,
the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If
you fear 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 not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel 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, stand and see this
great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes: 17 Is today
not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder
and rain, that you may perceive and see that your 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 all the people
greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19 And all the people said to Samuel,
“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; yet do not turn aside from
following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your
heart. 21 And do not turn aside; for then
you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for
they are nothing. 22 For
the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake,
because it 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 in
ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way. 24 Only
fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider
what great things He has done for you. 25 But if
you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”
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