1 Samuel 11:13
in 1 Samuel 11But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day Jehovah hath wrought deliverance in Israel.
KJV
And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the Lord hath wrought salvation in Israel.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verse15. For the Lord had said above to Samuel: They have not rejected you, but me, that I should not reign over them (1 Kings VIII, 7). But of Saul it was said a little before: Because they despised him, and did not bring him gifts (Ibid., X, 27). But he who was rejected, and he who was despised, after the enemies had been slain and victory obtained, heard the people crying out: Give us the men, and we will kill them.
This site's exposition
Who said that Saul should not reign over us
on 1 Samuel 11:12-13
Victory turns the crowd toward blood against the worthless men who scorned Saul at 10:27. Saul answers in his own voice that "today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel," so no one will die that day. Albert Barnes matches this restraint to David’s later conduct toward Saul, and it is the one time Saul refuses the sword when both the crowd and the cause would allow it.
This site's exposition
No one shall be put to death this day
Albert Barnes calls the ruling good policy and moderation. Saul credits the LORD with the salvation and spares the men who scorned him. At 14:45 the people use the same reasoning to rescue Jonathan from Saul's own oath, calling the day's deliverance the work of God.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): There shall not a man be put to death this day, no, not those men, those bad men, that had abused him, and therein reflected on God himself, 1. Because it was a day of joy and triumph: " To day the Lord has wrought salvation in Israel; and, since God has been so good to us all, let us not be harsh one to another.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
And Saul said,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
There shall not a man ... - An instance of great moderation, as well as good policy, on the part of Saul. Compare David’s conduct (marginal reference).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The calm and sagacious counsel of Samuel directed the popular feelings into a right channel, by appointing a general assembly of the militia, the really effective force of the nation, at Gilgal, where, amid great pomp and religious solemnities, the victorious leader was confirmed in his kingdom [1Sa 11:15].
There shall not a man be put to death - This was as much to Saul’s credit as the lately proposed measure was to the discredit of his soldiers.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Who is it that says. Derisively, "Shaul will reign over us?" Give them over and we will execute them.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּמַ֥ת | yumat | he will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַיּ֛וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עָשָֽׂה־ | ʾasah- | he has done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| תְּשׁוּעָ֖ה | teshuah | deliverance | H8668 → | 34 times |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוּמַ֥תhe will be put to death
yumatH4191 →839 times
אִ֖ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַיּ֛וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
עָשָֽׂה־he has done
ʾasah-H6213 →2628 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
תְּשׁוּעָ֖הdeliverance
teshuahH8668 →34 times
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 14:13But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
- 2 Chronicles 20:15
And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle…
- Isaiah 41:10–14
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Exodus 14:30
That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore.
- 2 Kings 6:16
“Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
Through
1 Samuel 14:45But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the…
it leads to
- Acts 27:34
So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
- Luke 21:18
Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
- 2 Samuel 14:11
“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD…
- Acts 27:34
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.