Saul Defeats the Ammonites

1 Samuel 11

1 o Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged p Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, q "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, r that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus s bring 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 t Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, u and 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 v And 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 w and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, x "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 y as one man. 8 When he mustered them at z Bezek, a the 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 b deliverance.'" When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, c "Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you." 11 d And the next day Saul put the people e in 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.

  1. Cross References
    1 Samuel 12:12
    And when you saw that Nahash the 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.
  2. Cross References
    Judges 21:8
    And they said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?" And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.
  3. Cross References
    Genesis 26:28
    They said, "We see plainly that the Lord has be...
    1 Kings 20:34
    And Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities that my ...
    Ezekiel 17:13
    And he took one of the royal offspring and made...
    Exodus 23:32
    You shall make no covenant with them and their ...
    Exodus 34:12
    Take care, lest you make a covenant with the in...
    Exodus 34:15
    Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants o...
    Deuteronomy 7:2
    And when the Lord your God gives them over to y...
  4. Cross References
    Numbers 16:14
    Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.
  5. Cross References
    1 Samuel 17:26
    And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
    Genesis 34:14
    They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
  6. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:26
    Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched.
  7. Cross References
    Judges 2:4
    As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept.
    Judges 21:2
    And the people came to Bethel and sat there till evening before God, and they lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
  8. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:6
    Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
    1 Samuel 10:10
    When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.
  9. Cross References
    Judges 19:29
    And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.
  10. Cross References
    Judges 21:5
    And the people of Israel said, "Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to the Lord ?" For they had taken a great oath concerning him who did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah, saying, "He shall surely be put to death.
    Judges 21:8
    And they said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the Lord to Mizpah?" And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.
    Judges 21:10
    So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest men there and commanded them, "Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones.
  11. Cross References
    Judges 20:1
    Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah.
  12. Cross References
    Judges 1:5
    They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
  13. Cross References
    Judges 20:15 - 17
    And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men.
    2 Samuel 24:9
    And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
  14. Cross References
    1 Samuel 11:13
    But Saul said, "Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.
  15. Cross References
    1 Samuel 11:3
    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.
  16. Cross References
    1 Samuel 31:11
    But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul.
  17. Cross References
    Judges 7:16
    And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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