1 Samuel 11:9
So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” And when the messengers relayed this to the men of Jabesh, they rejoiced.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Saul’s commanders address the Ammonite messengers who arrived to negotiate Jabesh-gilead’s surrender. They instruct the envoys to promise the besieged city that relief will arrive by midday the following day.
The words — The Hebrew כֹּה (koh) translates literally as “thus,” framing the military assurance that follows. תֹאמְרוּ (to.me.ru) is the imperative “you will say,” directing the messengers to relay the exact declaration.
The thread — The promise of timely deliverance runs parallel to the rescue motif in Psalms 18:17, which describes God pulling a person from powerful foes. Both passages mark a decisive intervention against overwhelming opposition.
Why it lands — The text states that relief arrives precisely when declared, not according to human scheduling. Readers must acknowledge that promised deliverance depends on divine timing rather than military strategy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh–gilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
Cross-references
- Psalms 18:17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.