Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 12
12
1And Shemu’ĕl said to all Yisra’ĕl, “Look, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have set a sovereign over you.
2“And now, look, the sovereign is walking before you. And I am old and grey, and look, my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth to this day.
3“Look, here I am. Witness against me before יהוה and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I oppressed? Whom have I abused, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? – then I restore it to you.”
4And they said, “You have not oppressed us or abused us, nor have you taken any bribe from anyone’s hand.”
5So he said to them, “יהוה is witness against you, and His anointed is witness today, that you have found naught in my hand.” And they answered, “He is witness.”
6And Shemu’ĕl said to the people, “It is יהוה who appointed Mosheh and Aharon, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Mitsrayim.
7“And now, stand still, so that I judge you before יהוה concerning all the righteous acts of יהוה which He did to you and your fathers:
8“When Ya‛aqoḇ had come to Mitsrayim, and your fathers cried out to יהוה, then יהוה sent Mosheh and Aharon, who brought your fathers out of Mitsrayim and made them dwell in this place.
9“But they forgot יהוה their Elohim, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Ḥatsor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the sovereign of Mo’aḇ. And they fought against them.
10“And they cried out to יהוה, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken יהוה and served the Ba‛als and the Ashtaroth. And now, deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we serve You.’
11“And יהוה sent Yerubba‛al, and Beḏan, and Yiphtaḥ, and Shemu’ĕl, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt in safety.
12“And when you saw that Naḥash sovereign of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but let a sovereign reign over us,’ when יהוה your Elohim was your sovereign.
13“And now, here is the sovereign whom you have chosen and whom you have asked. And see, יהוה has set a sovereign over you.
14“If you fear יהוה, and shall serve Him and obey His voice, and not rebel against the command of יהוה, then both you and the sovereign who reigns over you shall follow יהוה your Elohim.
15“But if you do not obey the voice of יהוה, and shall rebel against the mouth of יהוה, then the hand of יהוה shall be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16“And now, stand and see this great matter which יהוה does before your eyes:
17“Is today not the wheat harvest? Let me call to יהוה, so that He sends thunder and rain – know then and see that your evil is great, which you have done in the eyes of יהוה, in asking for yourselves a sovereign.”
18And Shemu’ĕl called to יהוה, and יהוה sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared יהוה and Shemu’ĕl.
19And all the people said to Shemu’ĕl, “Pray for your servants to יהוה your Elohim, that we do not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil of asking for ourselves a sovereign.”
20And Shemu’ĕl said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this evil. Only, do not turn aside from following יהוה. And you shall serve יהוה with all your heart,
21and do not turn aside after worthless matters which do not profit or deliver, for they are worthless.
22“For יהוה would not cast away His people, for His great Name’s sake, seeing it has pleased יהוה to make you His people.
23“Also, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against יהוה in ceasing to pray for you, but I shall teach you the good and straight way.
24“Only fear יהוה, and you shall serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what marvels He has done for you.
25“But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your sovereign are consumed.”
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Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 12: TS2009
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1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel’s Farewell Speech
1Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. 2Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right.”
4“You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.”
5Samuel said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
“He is witness,” they said.
6Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of Egypt. 7Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts performed by the Lord for you and your ancestors.
8“After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
9“But they forgot the Lord their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal,#12:11 Also called Gideon Barak,#12:11 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew Bedan Jephthah and Samuel,#12:11 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac Samson 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 king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.
16“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! 17Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.”
18Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel.
19The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own. 23As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. 24But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
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