1 Samuel 11
Open in the reader1Then Serpent the Kindred-People came up and laid siege to Dry-Place-gilead. All the men of Dry-Place said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”
2But Serpent the Kindred-People 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 Strives-with-God.”
3“Hold off for seven days,” replied the elders of Dry-Place, “and let us send messengers throughout Strives-with-God. If there is no one to save us, we will surrender to you.”
4When the messengers came to The-Hill of Asked-For and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
5Just then Asked-For was returning from the field, behind his oxen. “What troubles the people?” asked Asked-For. “Why are they weeping?” And they relayed to him the words of the men from Dry-Place.
6When Asked-For 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 Strives-with-God, proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not march behind Asked-For and Heard-of-God.” Then the terror of He-Who-Is fell upon the people, and they came out together as one man.
8And when Asked-For numbered them at Lightning, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Praised.
9So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Dry-Place-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” And when the messengers relayed this to the men of Dry-Place, they rejoiced.
10Then the men of Dry-Place said to Serpent, “Tomorrow we will come out, and you can do with us whatever seems good to you.”
11The next day Asked-For organized the troops into three divisions, and during the morning watch they invaded the camp of the children of Kindred and slaughtered them, until the hottest part of the day. And the survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
12Then the people said to Heard-of-God, “Who said that Asked-For should not reign over us? Bring those men here so we can kill them!”
13But Asked-For ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today He-Who-Is has worked salvation in Strives-with-God.”
14Then Heard-of-God said to the people, “Come, let us go to The-Rolling and renew the kingship there.”
15So all the people went to The-Rolling and confirmed Asked-For as king in the presence of He-Who-Is. There they sacrificed peace offerings before He-Who-Is, and Asked-For and all the children of Strives-with-God rejoiced greatly.