1 Samuel 12
12
1Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. 2Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to this day. 3Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4They said, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand.”
5He said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
They said, “He is witness.” 6Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8“When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to Yahweh, then Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place. 9But they forgot Yahweh their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. 10They cried to Yahweh, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11Yahweh sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.
12“When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when Yahweh your God was your king. 13Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. Behold, Yahweh has set a king over you. 14If you will fear Yahweh, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of Yahweh your God. 15But if you will not listen to Yahweh’s voice, but rebel against the commandment of Yahweh, then Yahweh’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16“Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which Yahweh will do before your eyes. 17Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call to Yahweh, that he may send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in Yahweh’s sight, in asking for a king.”
18So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.
19All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.”
20Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn away from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart. 21Don’t turn away to go after vain things which can’t profit or deliver, for they are vain. 22For Yahweh will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased Yahweh to make you a people for himself. 23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24Only fear Yahweh, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you. 25But if you keep doing evil, you will be consumed, both you and your king.”
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PUBLIC DOMAIN (not copyrighted)
1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel’s Farewell Speech
1Samuel said to all Israel, “I have done everything you wanted me to do. I have put a king over you. 2Now you have a king to lead you. I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader since I was young. 3Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, you must testify against me. Do this before the Lord and his appointed king. Did I steal anyone’s ox or donkey? Did I hurt or cheat anyone? Did I ever secretly take money to pretend not to see something wrong? If I did any of these things, I will make it right.”
4The Israelites answered, “You have not cheated us. You have not hurt us. You have not taken anything unfairly from anyone.”
5Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness to what you have said. His appointed king is also a witness today. They are both witnesses that you did not find anything wrong in me.”
“He is our witness,” they said.
6Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is our witness. He chose Moses and Aaron. He brought your ancestors out of Egypt. 7Now, stand there. And I will talk with you about all the good things the Lord did for you and your ancestors.
8“After Jacob entered Egypt, his descendants cried to the Lord for help. So the Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They took your ancestors out of Egypt and brought them to live in this place.
9“But they forgot the Lord their God. So he let them become the slaves of Sisera. He was the commander of the army of Hazor. The Lord let them become the slaves of the Philistines and the king of Moab. They all fought against your ancestors. 10Then your ancestors cried to the Lord. They said, ‘We have sinned. We have left the Lord. We served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now save us from our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11The Lord sent Gideon, who is also called Jerub-Baal. And he sent Barak, Jephthah and Samuel. Then he saved you from your enemies around you. And you lived in safety. 12But then you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites coming against you. You said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us!’ 13Now here is the king you chose. The Lord has put him over you. 14You must honor the Lord and serve him. You must obey his commands. Both you and the king ruling over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, it will be well with you. 15But if you don’t obey the Lord, and if you fight against his commands, he will be against you. He will do to you what he did to your ancestors.
16“Now stand still and see the great thing the Lord will do before your eyes. 17It is now the time of the wheat harvest.# This was a dry time in the summer when no rains fell. I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will know what an evil thing you did against the Lord when you asked for a king.”
18Then Samuel prayed to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. And the people became very afraid of the Lord and Samuel. 19They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20Samuel answered, “Don’t be afraid. It’s true that you did wrong. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 21Idols are of no use. So don’t worship them. They can’t help you or save you. They are useless! 22For his own sake, the Lord won’t leave his people. Instead, he was pleased to make you his own people. 23I will surely not stop praying for you. If I did, I would be sinning against the Lord. I will teach you what is good and right. 24But you must honor the Lord. You must always serve him with all your heart. Remember the wonderful things he did for you! 25But if you are stubborn and do evil, God will sweep you and your king away.”
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