1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel’s Final Speech to Israel
1Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “I’ve done everything you asked me to do. I’ve placed a king over you. 2Now you have a king as your leader. But I’m old. My hair is gray. My sons are here with you. I’ve been your leader from the time I was young until this day. 3Here I stand. Bring charges against me if you can. The Lord is a witness. And so is his anointed king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I cheated anyone? Have I treated anyone badly? Have I accepted money from anyone who wanted special favors? If I’ve done any of these things, I’ll make it right.”
4“You haven’t cheated us,” they replied. “You haven’t treated us badly. You haven’t taken anything from anyone.”
5Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you this day. And so is his anointed king. They are witnesses that I haven’t taken anything from any of you.”
“The Lord is a witness,” they said.
6Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord appointed Moses and Aaron. He brought out of Egypt your people who lived long ago. 7Now then, stand here. I’m going to remind you of all the good things the Lord has done for you and your people. He is a witness.
8“After Jacob’s family entered Egypt, they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your people out of Egypt. They had them make their homes in this land.
9“But the people forgot the Lord their God. So he put them under the control of Sisera. Sisera was the commander of the army of Hazor. The Lord also put the Israelites under the control of the Philistines and the king of Moab. All those nations fought against Israel. 10So the people cried out to the Lord. They said, ‘We have sinned. We’ve deserted the Lord. We’ve served gods that are named Baal. We’ve served female gods that are named Ashtoreth. But save us now from the power of our enemies. Then we will serve you.’ 11The Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and me. He saved you from the power of your enemies who were all around you. So you lived in safety.
12“But then you saw that Nahash, the king of Ammon, was about to attack you. So you said to me, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ You said it even though the Lord your God was your king. 13Now here is the king you have chosen. He’s the one you asked for. The Lord has placed a king over you. 14But you must have respect for the Lord. You must serve him and obey him. You must not say no to his commands. Both you and the king who rules over you must obey the Lord your God. If you do, that’s good. 15But you must not disobey him. You must not say no to his commands. If you do, his power will be against you. That’s what happened to your people who lived before you.
16“So stand still. Watch the great thing the Lord is about to do right here in front of you! 17It’s time to gather in the wheat, isn’t it? I’ll call out to the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what an evil thing you did in the sight of the Lord. You shouldn’t have asked for a king.”
18Samuel called out to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people had great respect for the Lord and for Samuel.
19They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us. Pray that we won’t die because we asked for a king. That was an evil thing to do. We added it to all our other sins.”
20“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel replied. “It’s true that you have done all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve him with all your heart. 21Don’t turn away and worship statues of gods. They are useless. They can’t do you any good. They can’t save you either. They are completely useless. 22But the Lord will be true to his great name. He won’t turn his back on his people. That’s because he was pleased to make you his own people. 23I would never sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I’ll teach you to live in a way that is good and right. 24But be sure to have respect for the Lord. Serve him faithfully. Do it with all your heart. Think about the great things he has done for you. 25But don’t be stubborn. Don’t continue to do what is evil. If you do, both you and your king will be destroyed.”
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1 Samuel 12: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel’s Final Public Speech
1Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you. # 1Sm 8:5-22 2Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until today. 3Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? # Ex 20:17; Nm 16:15 Whom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something? # LXX reads bribe or a pair of shoes? Testify against me. # Lit bribe and will hide my eyes with it? # Dt 16:19 I will return it to you.”
4“You haven’t wronged us, you haven’t mistreated us, and you haven’t taken anything from anyone’s hand,” they responded.
5He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything # Ac 23:9; 24:20 in my hand.” # Ex 22:4
“He is a witness,” they said.
6Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron # Ex 6:26 and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness. # LXX; MT omits is a witness 7Now present yourselves, so I may confront you before the Lord about all the righteous acts He has done for you and your ancestors.
8“When Jacob went to Egypt, # LXX reads When Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and Egypt humbled them your ancestors cried out to the Lord, # Ex 2:23-25 and He sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. # Ex 3:1-10 9But they forgot the Lord their God, so He handed them over to Sisera # Jdg 4:1-2 commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. # Jdg 2:11-15 These enemies fought against them. 10Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the power of our enemies, # Jdg 2:18 and we will serve You.’ 11So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, # Jdg 6:11-12,32 Barak, # LXX, Syr; MT reads Bedan ; Jdg 4:6; Heb 11:32 # Jdg 4:6; 11:1 Jephthah, # Jdg 11:1 and Samuel. # 1Sm 7:10-14 He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. 12But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king rule over us’ — even though the Lord your God is your king.
13“Now here is the king you’ve chosen, # 1Sm 10:24 the one you requested. # 1Sm 8:5; Hs 13:11 Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. 14If you fear the Lord, # Jos 24:14 worship and obey Him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who rules over you will follow the Lord your God. 15However, if you disobey the Lord # Jos 24:20; Is 1:20 and rebel against His command, the Lord’s hand will be against you # 1Sm 5:9 and against your ancestors. # LXX reads your king # Lv 26:14-33; Jos 24:14-27
16“Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. # Ex 14:13 17Isn’t the wheat harvest today? # Pr 26:1 I will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.” # 1Sm 8:7 18Samuel called on the Lord, and on that day the Lord sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. # Ex 9:23-25,31; 1Kg 18:37-39; Pr 26:1
19They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, # Ex 9:28; Jr 15:1 so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.” # 1Sm 17:20
20Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. # Dt 11:16 Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart. 21Don’t turn away to follow worthless # LXX reads away after empty things that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless. # Is 44:9-20; Jr 2:8,11; Hab 2:18 22The Lord will not abandon His people, # Jos 7:9; Ezk 36:22-28 because of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people. # Dt 7:6-9; 1Pt 2:9
23“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. # Nm 21:7; 1Sm 7:5-9; Rm 1:9-10 I will teach you the good and right way. 24Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things He has done for you. # Dt 10:21; Ps 103:2-14 25However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.” # 2Kg 17:6-7
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