Chapter 11

Defeat of the Ammonites. ^1 [a]About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead. All the people of Jabesh begged Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”^{(A) 2} But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “This is my condition for making a treaty with you: I will gouge out the right eye of every man,^[b] and thus bring shame on all Israel.” ³ The elders of Jabesh said to him: “Give us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you.” ⁴ When the messengers arrived at Gibeah of Saul and reported the news in the people’s hearing, they all wept aloud. ⁵ Just then Saul came in from the field, behind his oxen. “Why are the people weeping?” he asked. They repeated the message of the inhabitants of Jabesh for him. ⁶ As he listened to this report, the spirit of God rushed upon him and he became very angry.^{(B) 7} Taking a yoke of oxen, he cut them into pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel^[c] by messengers saying, “If anyone does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same thing will be done to his oxen!” The dread of the Lord came upon the people and they went forth as one.^{(C) 8} When Saul reviewed them in Bezek,^[d] there were three hundred thousand Israelites and seventy thousand Judahites.

⁹ To the messengers who had come he said, “Tell the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead that tomorrow, when the sun grows hot, they will be saved.” The messengers went and reported this to the inhabitants of Jabesh, and they rejoiced. ¹⁰ The men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you may do with us whatever you want.” ¹¹ The next day, Saul arranged his troops in three companies and invaded the camp during the dawn watch. They slaughtered Ammonites until the day had gotten hot; by then the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

⁴ Then the men of Judah came there and anointed David king over the house of Judah.

A report reached David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had buried Saul.^{(A) 5} So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and said to them: “May you be blessed by the Lord for having done this kindness to your lord Saul in burying him. ⁶ And now may the Lord show you kindness and fidelity. For my part, I will show generosity to you for having done this. ⁷ So take courage and prove yourselves valiant, for though your lord Saul is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

¹² he went and obtained the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them away secretly from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them at the time they defeated Saul on Gilboa.^{(A) 13} When he had brought up from there the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan, the bones of those who had been executed were also gathered up. ¹⁴ Then the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan were buried in the land of Benjamin, at Zela, in the tomb of his father Kish. After all that the king commanded had been carried out, God granted relief to the land.^(B)