9 Then answered ^rDoeg the Edomite, who stood by the servants of Saul, “I saw the son of Jesse ^scoming to Nob, to ^tAhimelech the son of Ahitub, 10 ^uand he inquired of the Lord for him and ^vgave him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

11 Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father’s house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub.” And he answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 And Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and ^uhave inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, ^wto lie in wait, as at this day?” 14 Then Ahimelech answered the king, “And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king’s son-in-law, and captain over¹ your bodyguard, and honored in your house? 15 Is today the first time ^uthat I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, ^xmuch or little.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house.” 17 And the king said to ^ythe guard who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me.” But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord. 18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike the priests.” And Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests, ^zand he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore the linen ephod. 19 And Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; ^aboth man and woman, child and infant, ox, donkey and sheep, he put to the sword.

1 ^oThen Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged ^pJabesh-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, ^rthat I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus ^sbring 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 ^tGibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, ^uand 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 ^vAnd 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 ^wand cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the 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 ^yas one man. 8 When he mustered them at ^zBezek, ^athe 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 ^bsalvation.’” 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 ^dAnd the next day Saul put the people ^ein 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.

12 Then the people said to Samuel, ^f“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ ^gBring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, ^h“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today ⁱthe Lord has worked ^jsalvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to ^kGilgal, and there they made Saul king ^lbefore the Lord in Gilgal. There ^mthey sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.