9. Saul and his army told the messengers from Jabesh, “Tell the people at Jabesh in Gilead that by noon tomorrow, you will be saved.” The messengers told Saul’s message to the people at Jabesh, and they were very happy.
10. Then the people of Jabesh said to Nahash the Ammonite, “Tomorrow we will come to you, and you can do whatever you want to us.”
11. The next morning Saul separated his soldiers into three groups. At sunrise, Saul and his soldiers entered the Ammonite camp. Saul attacked while they were changing guards that morning. He and his soldiers defeated the Ammonites before noon. The Ammonite soldiers all ran away in different directions—no two soldiers stayed together.
12. Then the people said to Samuel, “Where are the people who said they didn’t want Saul to rule as king? Bring them here, and we will kill them.”
13. But Saul said, “No, don’t kill anyone today! The Lord saved Israel today.”
14. Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal. At Gilgal we will again make Saul the king.”
15. All the people went to Gilgal. There, in front of the Lord, the people made Saul king. They offered fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all the Israelites had a great celebration.