1 Samuel 12

Legacy Standard Bible

Samuel Speaks to Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^(A)I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I ^(B)have ^[a]appointed a king over you. ² So now, ^(C)here is the king walking before you, but ^(D)I am old and gray, and behold, ^(E)my sons are with you. And ^(F)I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. ³ Here I am; bear witness against me before Yahweh and ^(G)His anointed. ^(H)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(I)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” ⁴ And they said, “You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” ⁵ So he said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(J)you have found nothing ^(K)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who ^[b](L)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ So now, take your stand, ^(M)that I may judge you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh which He did for you and your fathers. ^8 (N)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(O)your fathers cried out to Yahweh, then ^(P)Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron ^[c](Q)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(R)they forgot Yahweh their God, so ^(S)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^(T)into the hand of the Philistines and ^(U)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (V)And they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served ^(W)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(X)now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then Yahweh sent ^(Y)Jerubbaal and ^[d](Z)Bedan and ^(AA)Jephthah and ^(AB)Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. ¹² But you saw ^(AC)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said to me, ‘^(AD)No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^(AE)although Yahweh your God was your king. ¹³ So now, ^(AF)behold, the king whom you have chosen, ^(AG)whom you have asked for, and behold, Yahweh has set a king over you. ^14 (AH)If you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[e]command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God. ^15 (AI)But if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the ^[f]command of Yahweh, then ^(AJ)the hand of Yahweh will be against you, ^(AK)as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶ Even now, ^(AL)take your stand and see this great thing which Yahweh will do before your eyes. ^17 (AM)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(AN)I will call to Yahweh, that He may send ^[g]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(AO)your wickedness is great which you have done in the eyes of Yahweh by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸ So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent ^[h]thunder and rain that day; and ^(AP)all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, “^(AQ)Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins ^(AR)this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” ²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(AS)do not turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart. ²¹ And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^(AT)meaningless things which cannot profit and cannot deliver, because they are meaningless. ²² For ^(AU)Yahweh will not abandon His people ^(AV)on account of His great name, because Yahweh ^(AW)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³ Moreover, as for me, ^(AX)far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(AY)I will instruct you in the good and upright way. ^24 (AZ)Only ^[i]fear Yahweh and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for see ^(BA)what great things He has done for you. ^25 (BB)But if you still do wickedly, ^(BC)both you and your king ^(BD)will be swept away.”