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Samuel was displeased when they said, “Give us a king to rule us.” But he prayed to the Lord. The Lord said: Listen to whatever the people say. You are not the one they are rejecting. They are rejecting me as their king.(A)

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But when they said, “Give us a king(A) to lead us,” this displeased(B) Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen(C) to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,(D) but they have rejected me as their king.(E)

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Persistent Demand. 19 The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, “No! There must be a king over us.(A)

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19 But the people refused(A) to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want(B) a king(C) over us.

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Chapter 11

Defeat of the Ammonites. [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) 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. 11:1 A text from Qumran (1QSama) introduces this chapter with the report that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had attacked the Gadites and the Reubenites, gouging out their right eyes. Seven thousand of them had fled to Jabesh-gilead. This additional information would explain why Nahash besieged Jabesh-gilead. There is no consensus among scholars whether the Qumran text represents an original reading or a secondary expansion.
  2. 11:2 Right eye of every man: thus rendering them incapable of military action.

Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh

11 Nahash[a](A) the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.(B) And all the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty(C) with us, and we will be subject to you.”

But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition(D) that I gouge(E) out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace(F) on all Israel.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 11:1 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls gifts. Now Nahash king of the Ammonites oppressed the Gadites and Reubenites severely. He gouged out all their right eyes and struck terror and dread in Israel. Not a man remained among the Israelites beyond the Jordan whose right eye was not gouged out by Nahash king of the Ammonites, except that seven thousand men fled from the Ammonites and entered Jabesh Gilead. About a month later, Nahash

23 But Gideon answered them, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The Lord must rule over you.”(A)

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23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule(A) over you.”

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