English Standard Version
1 Samuel 11:2
2But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel."
1 Samuel 11:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
- New International Version (NIV)But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“All right,” Nahash said, “but only on one condition. I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you as a disgrace to all Israel!”
Context of 1 Samuel 11:2
1Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you." But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel." 3The 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." 4When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
Read all of 1 Samuel 111 Samuel 11:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֗ם נָחָשׁ֙ הָעַמּוֹנִ֔י בְּזֹאת֙ אֶכְרֹ֣ת לָכֶ֔ם בִּנְק֥וֹר לָכֶ֖ם כָּל־עֵ֣ין יָמִ֑ין וְשַׂמְתִּ֥יהָ חֶרְפָּ֖ה עַל־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Nahashנָחָשׁnâchâsh · NahashH5176
- the Ammoniteעַמּוֹנִי‛ammônîy · AmmonH5984
- answeredאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- them, On thisזֹאתzô'th · thisH2063
- will I makeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
- with you, that I may thrust outנָקַרnâqar · to digH5365
- all your rightיָמִיןyâmîyn · rightH3225
- eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- and layשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- a reproachחֶרְפָּהcherpâh · reproachH2781
- upon all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 11:2
- 2 Kings 18:31Do not listen to Hezekiah, for thus says the king of Assyria: 'Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern,
- Judges 16:21And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.
- Exodus 3:6And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
- Proverbs 12:10Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
- Jeremiah 39:7He put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon.
- 1 Samuel 17:26And David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?"
- Genesis 34:14They said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a disgrace to us.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 11:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2I may thrust out all your right eves - This cruel condition would serve at once as a badge of their slavery, and a means of incapacitating them from being effective warriors. Theodoret observes, "He who opposes his shield to the enemy with his left hand, thereby hides his left eye, and looks at his enemy with his right eye; he therefore who plucks out that right eye makes men useless in war." Josephus gives the same reason.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2put out everyone’s right eye: In the ancient Near East, it was common to mutilate captured soldiers. These soldiers, with one eye, lost depth perception, making it hard for them to fight in a revolt.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. thrust out all your right eyes--literally, "scoop" or "hollow out" the ball. This barbarous mutilation is the usual punishment of usurpers in the East, inflicted on chiefs; sometimes, also, even in modern history, on the whole male population of a town. Nahash meant to keep the Jabeshites useful as tributaries, whence he did not wish to render them wholly blind, but only to deprive them of their right eye, which would disqualify them for war. Besides…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 11:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries