11 About a month later,[fn] Nahash the Ammonite took his men and camped around Yabesh-Gilead, and the leaders of Yabesh told him, “Make a treaty with us, and we’ll serve you.”

2 “Yes, I’ll make an treaty with you,” Nahash replied, “by gouging out all of your right eyes in order to shame all Israel.”

3 “Oh! Then leave us alone for seven days,” the Yabesh elders responded, “so that we can send messengers through all the territory of Israel. If no one will come to rescue us, then we’ll surrender to you.”

4 When the messengers arrived where Sha’ul lived at Gibeah and passed the news onto the people, everyone started wailing loudly. 5 At that time, Sha’ul was walking home behind the cattle and he asked, “What’s with all the people wailing?” Then they told him what the messengers from Yabesh had said. 6 God’s spirit rushed on Sha’ul as he heard the message, and he became very angry. 7 Then he took a pair of cattle and chopped them into pieces, and sent messengers to take them throughout Israel and announce, “This is what will be done to the cattle of anyone who doesn’t join Sha’ul and Shemuel in battle.”

Then Yahweh caused the people to be afraid of him, and they united together. 8 When Sha’ul assembled them at Bezek, there were three hundred thousand warriors from Israel and thirty thousand from Yehudah, 9 and they told the original messengers, “Go and tell the leaders of Yabesh-Gilead, ‘Tomorrow you’ll all be rescued by the time that the sun’s at its hottest.’ ” 10 So the Yabesh leaders told Nahash, “We’ll surrender to you all tomorrow, then you can do to us whatever seems good to you all.”

11 The next day, Sha’ul divided his warriors into three divisions, and they attacked the Ammonite camp before the sun rose. Then they slaughtered the Ammonites until the hottest part of the day. Their remaining warriors were scattered so completely that no two of them were able to stay together.