Saul Defeats the Ammonites

¹Then Nahashthe Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treatywith us, and we will serve you.”

²But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.”

³“Hold off for seven days,” replied the elders of Jabesh, “and let us send messengers throughout Israel. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you.”

⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.

⁵Just then Saul was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Saul. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Jabesh.

⁶When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he burned with great anger.

⁷He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the land of Israel, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Saul and Samuel.”Then the terror of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out together as one man.

⁸And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000men of Judah.

⁹So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’”And when the messengers relayed this to the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced.

¹⁰Then the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do with us whatever seems good to you.”

¹¹The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

Saul Confirmed as King

¹²Then the people said to Samuel, “Who said that Saul should not reign over us? Bring those men here so we can kill them!”

¹³But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”

¹⁴Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.”

¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

Salvation for Foreigners

¹This is what the LORD says:“Maintain justice and do what is right,for My salvation is coming soon,and My righteousness will be revealed.

²Blessed is the man who does this,and the son of man who holds it fast,who keeps the Sabbath without profaning itand keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

³Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,“The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.”And let the eunuch not say,“I am but a dry tree.”

⁴For this is what the LORD says:“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,who choose what pleases Meand hold fast to My covenant—

⁵I will give them, in My house and within My walls,a memorial and a namebetter than that of sons and daughters.I will give them an everlasting namethat will not be cut off.

⁶And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORDto minister to Him,to love the name of the LORD,and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning itand who hold fast to My covenant—

⁷I will bring them to My holy mountainand make them joyful in My house of prayer.Their burnt offerings and sacrificeswill be accepted on My altar,for My house will be called a house of prayerfor all the nations.”

⁸Thus declares the Lord GOD,who gathers the dispersed of Israel:“I will gather to them still othersbesides those already gathered.”

Israel’s Sinful Leaders

⁹Come, all you beasts of the field;eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.

¹⁰Israel’s watchmen are blind,they are all oblivious;they are all mute dogs,they cannot bark;they are dreamers lying around,loving to slumber.

¹¹Like ravenous dogs,they are never satisfied.They are shepherds with no discernment;they all turn to their own way,each one seeking his own gain:

¹²“Come, let me get the wine,let us imbibe the strong drink,and tomorrow will be like today,only far better!”

The Valley of Vision

¹This is the burden against the Valley of Vision:What ails you now,that you have all gone up to the rooftops,

²O city of commotion,O town of revelry?Your slain did not die by the sword,nor were they killed in battle.

³All your rulers have fled together,captured without a bow.All your fugitives were captured together,having fled to a distant place.

⁴Therefore I said,“Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly!Do not try to console meover the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

⁵For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a dayof tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision—of breaking down the wallsand crying to the mountains.

⁶Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen,and Kir uncovers the shield.

⁷Your choicest valleys are full of chariots,and horsemen are posted at the gates.

⁸He has uncoveredthe defenses of Judah.On that day you looked to the weapons in the House of the Forest.

⁹You saw that there were many breaches in the walls of the City of David. You collected water from the lower pool.

¹⁰You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore them down to strengthen the wall.

¹¹You built a reservoir between the walls for the waters of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or consider Him who planned it long ago.

¹²On that day the Lord GOD of Hostscalled for weeping and wailing,for shaven headsand the wearing of sackcloth.

¹³But look, there is joy and gladness,butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep,eating of meat and drinking of wine:“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴The LORD of Hosts has revealed in my hearing:“Until your dying day,this sin of yours will never be atoned for,”says the Lord GOD of Hosts.

A Message for Shebna

¹⁵This is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “Go, say to Shebna, the steward in charge of the palace:

¹⁶What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?

¹⁷Look, O mighty man! The LORD is about to shake you violently. He will take hold of you,

¹⁸roll you into a ball, and sling you into a wide land. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots will remain—a disgrace to the house of your master.

¹⁹I will remove you from office, and you will be ousted from your position.

²⁰On that day I will summon My servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

²¹I will clothe him with your robe and tie your sash around him. I will put your authority in his hand, and he will be a father to the dwellers of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.

²²I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

²³I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a throne of glory for the house of his father.

²⁴So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house: the descendants and the offshoots—all the lesser vessels, from bowls to every kind of jar.

²⁵In that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, the peg driven into a firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and fall, and the load upon it will be cut down.”Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

I Waited Patiently for the LORD

¹I waited patiently for the LORD;He inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He lifted me up from the pit of despair,out of the miry clay;He set my feet upon a rock,and made my footsteps firm.

³He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fearand put their trust in the LORD.

⁴Blessed is the manwho has made the LORD his trust,who has not turned to the proud,nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

⁵Many, O LORD my God,are the wonders You have done,and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them,they are more than I can count.

⁶Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,but my ears You have opened.Burnt offerings and sin offeringsYou did not require.

⁷Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll:

⁸I delight to do Your will, O my God;Your law is within my heart.”

⁹I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;behold, I do not seal my lips,as You, O LORD, do know.

¹⁰I have not covered up Your righteousness in my heart;I have declared Your faithfulness and salvation;I have not concealed Your loving devotion and faithfulnessfrom the great assembly.

¹¹O LORD, do not withhold Your mercy from me;Your loving devotion and faithfulness will always guard me.

¹²For evils without number surround me;my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see.They are more than the hairs of my head,and my heart has failed within me.

¹³Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;hurry, O LORD, to help me.

¹⁴May those who seek my lifebe ashamed and confounded;may those who wish me harmbe repelled and humiliated.

¹⁵May those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”be appalled at their own shame.

¹⁶May all who seek Yourejoice and be glad in You;may those who love Your salvationalways say, “The LORD be magnified!”

¹⁷But I am poor and needy;may the Lord think of me.You are my helper and deliverer;O my God, do not delay.