Saul Defeats the Ammonites

¹About a month later King Nahash of Ammon led his army against the town of Jabesh in the territory of Gilead and besieged it. The men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will accept you as our ruler.”

²Nahash answered, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition: I will put out everyone's right eye and so bring disgrace on all Israel.”

³The leaders of Jabesh said, “Give us seven days to send messengers throughout the land of Israel. If no one will help us, then we will surrender to you.”

⁴The messengers arrived at Gibeah, where Saul lived, and when they told the news, the people started crying in despair.

⁵Saul was just then coming in from the field with his oxen, and he asked, “What's wrong? Why is everyone crying?” They told him what the messengers from Jabesh had reported.

⁶When Saul heard this, the spirit of God took control of him, and he became furious.

⁷He took two oxen, cut them in pieces, and had messengers carry the pieces throughout the land of Israel with this warning: “Whoever does not follow Saul and Samuel into battle will have this done to his oxen!” The people of Israel were afraid of what the Lord might do, and all of them, without exception, came out together.

⁸Saul gathered them at Bezek: there were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000 from Judah.

⁹They said to the messengers from Jabesh, “Tell your people that before noon tomorrow they will be rescued.” When the people of Jabesh received the message, they were overjoyed

¹⁰and said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do with us whatever you wish.”

¹¹That night Saul divided his men into three groups, and at dawn the next day they rushed into the enemy camp and attacked the Ammonites. By noon they had slaughtered them. The survivors scattered, each man running off by himself.

¹²Then the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Where are the people who said that Saul should not be our king? Hand them over to us, and we will kill them!”

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

¹⁴And Samuel said to them, “Let us all go to Gilgal and once more proclaim Saul as our king.”

¹⁵So they all went to Gilgal, and there at the holy place they proclaimed Saul king. They offered fellowship sacrifices, and Saul and all the people of Israel celebrated the event.

Samuel Addresses the People

¹Then Samuel said to the people of Israel, “I have done what you asked me to do. I have given you a king to rule you,

²and now you have him to lead you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are with you. I have been your leader from my youth until now.

³Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, accuse me now in the presence of the Lord and the king he has chosen. Have I taken anybody's cow or anybody's donkey? Have I cheated or oppressed anyone? Have I accepted a bribe from anyone? If I have done any of these things, I will pay back what I have taken.”

⁴The people answered, “No, you have not cheated us or oppressed us; you have not taken anything from anyone.”

⁵Samuel replied, “The Lord and the king he has chosen are witnesses today that you have found me to be completely innocent.” “Yes, the Lord is our witness,” they answered.

⁶Samuel continued, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors out of Egypt.

⁷Now stand where you are, and I will accuse you before the Lord by reminding you of all the mighty actions the Lord did to save you and your ancestors.

⁸When Jacob and his family went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, your ancestors cried to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this land.

⁹But the people forgot the Lord their God, and so he let the Philistines and the king of Moab and Sisera, commander of the army of the city of Hazor, fight against your ancestors and conquer them.

¹⁰Then they cried to the Lord for help and said, ‘We have sinned, because we turned away from you, Lord, and worshiped the idols of Baal and Astarte. Rescue us from our enemies, and we will worship you!’

¹¹And the Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and finally me. Each of us rescued you from your enemies, and you lived in safety.

¹²But when you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was about to attack you, you rejected the Lord as your king and said to me, ‘We want a king to rule us.’

¹³“Now here is the king you chose; you asked for him, and now the Lord has given him to you.

¹⁴All will go well with you if you honor the Lord your God, serve him, listen to him, and obey his commands, and if you and your king follow him.

¹⁵But if you do not listen to the Lord but disobey his commands, he will be against you and your king.

¹⁶So then, stand where you are, and you will see the great thing which the Lord is going to do.

¹⁷It's the dry season, isn't it? But I will pray, and the Lord will send thunder and rain. When this happens, you will realize that you committed a great sin against the Lord when you asked him for a king.”

¹⁸So Samuel prayed, and on that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. Then all the people became afraid of the Lord and of Samuel,

¹⁹and they said to Samuel, “Please, sir, pray to the Lord your God for us, so that we won't die. We now realize that, besides all our other sins, we have sinned by asking for a king.”

²⁰“Don't be afraid,” Samuel answered. “Even though you have done such an evil thing, do not turn away from the Lord, but serve him with all your heart.

²¹Don't go after false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real.

²²The Lord has made a solemn promise, and he will not abandon you, for he has decided to make you his own people.

²³As for me, the Lord forbid that I should sin against him by no longer praying for you. Instead, I will teach you what is good and right for you to do.

²⁴Obey the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Remember the great things he has done for you.

²⁵But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be destroyed.”

The Prayer of Someone Betrayed by a Friend

¹Hear my prayer, O God; don't turn away from my plea!

²Listen to me and answer me; I am worn out by my worries.

³I am terrified by the threats of my enemies, crushed by the oppression of the wicked. They bring trouble on me; they are angry with me and hate me.

⁴I am terrified, and the terrors of death crush me.

⁵I am gripped by fear and trembling; I am overcome with horror.

⁶I wish I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and find rest.

⁷I would fly far away and make my home in the desert.

⁸I would hurry and find myself a shelter from the raging wind and the storm.

⁹Confuse the speech of my enemies, O Lord! I see violence and riots in the city,

¹⁰surrounding it day and night, filling it with crime and trouble.

¹¹There is destruction everywhere; the streets are full of oppression and fraud.

¹²If it were an enemy making fun of me, I could endure it; if it were an opponent boasting over me, I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, my companion, my colleague and close friend.

¹⁴We had intimate talks with each other and worshiped together in the Temple.

¹⁵May my enemies die before their time; may they go down alive into the world of the dead! Evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

¹⁶But I call to the Lord God for help, and he will save me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night my complaints and groans go up to him, and he will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will bring me safely back from the battles that I fight against so many enemies.

¹⁹God, who has ruled from eternity, will hear me and defeat them; for they refuse to change, and they do not fear him.

²⁰My former companion attacked his friends; he broke his promises.

²¹His words were smoother than cream, but there was hatred in his heart; his words were as soothing as oil, but they cut like sharp swords.

²²Leave your troubles with the Lord, and he will defend you; he never lets honest people be defeated.

²³But you, O God, will bring those murderers and liars to their graves before half their life is over. As for me, I will trust in you.