11 “So God sent Jerub-Baal (Gideon), Bedan (Barak), Jephthah, and Samuel. He saved you from that hard life surrounded by enemies, and you lived in peace.

12 “But when you saw Nahash, king of the Ammonites, preparing to attack you, you said to me, ‘No more of this. We want a king to lead us.’ And God was already your king!

13-15 “So here’s the king you wanted, the king you asked for. God has let you have your own way, given you a king. If you fear God, worship and obey him, and don’t rebel against what he tells you. If both you and your king follow God, no problem. God will be sure to save you. But if you don’t obey him and rebel against what he tells you, king or no king, you will fare no better than your fathers.

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11 Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal,[a](A) Barak,[b](B) Jephthah(C) and Samuel,[c](D) and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.

12 “But when you saw that Nahash(E) king(F) of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule(G) over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king(H) you have chosen, the one you asked(I) for; see, the Lord has set a king over you.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 12:11 Also called Gideon
  2. 1 Samuel 12:11 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew Bedan
  3. 1 Samuel 12:11 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac Samson