1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel's Address to the People
1And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. 2And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. 3Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. 4And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand. 5And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
6 #
Exod 6.26. And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers. 8#Exod 2.23. When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. 9#Judg 4.2; Judg 13.1; Judg 3.12. And when they forgat the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sis´era, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10#Judg 10.10-15. And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Ba´alim and Ash´toreth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11#Judg 7.1; Judg 4.6; Judg 11.29; 1 Sam 3.20. And the Lord sent Jerubba´al, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelt safe. 12#1 Sam 8.19. And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king. 13Now therefore, behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you. 14If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord; then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God: 15but if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord; then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. 17Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king. 18So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; 21and turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people. 23Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 25But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
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1 Samuel 12: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel Addresses the People
1Then Samuel said to the people of Israel, “I have done what you asked me to do. I have given you a king to rule you, 2and now you have him to lead you. As for me, I am old and grey, and my sons are with you. I have been your leader from my youth until now. 3Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, accuse me now in the presence of the LORD and the king he has chosen. Have I taken anybody's cow or anybody's donkey? Have I cheated or oppressed anyone? Have I accepted a bribe from anyone? If I have done any of these things, I will pay back what I have taken.”
4The people answered, “No, you have not cheated us or oppressed us; you have not taken anything from anyone.”
5Samuel replied, “The LORD and the king he has chosen are witnesses today that you have found me to be completely innocent.”
“Yes, the LORD is our witness,” they answered.
6 #
Ex 6.26
Samuel continued, “The LORD is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors out of Egypt. 7Now stand where you are, and I will accuse you before the LORD by reminding you#12.7 One ancient translation by reminding you; Hebrew does not have these words. of all the mighty actions the LORD did to save you and your ancestors. 8#Ex 2.23When Jacob and his family went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them,#12.8 One ancient translation and the Egyptians oppressed them; Hebrew does not have these words. your ancestors cried to the LORD for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this land. 9#Judg 3.12; 4.2; 13.1But the people forgot the LORD their God, and so he let the Philistines and the king of Moab and Sisera, commander of the army of the city of Hazor, fight against your ancestors and conquer them. 10#Judg 10.10–15Then they cried to the LORD for help and said, ‘We have sinned, because we turned away from you, LORD, and worshipped the idols of Baal and Astarte. Rescue us from our enemies, and we will worship you!’ 11#1 Sam 3.20; Judg 4.6; 7.1; 11.29And the LORD sent Gideon, Barak,#12.11 Some ancient translations Barak; Hebrew Bedan. Jephthah, and finally me. Each of us rescued you from your enemies, and you lived in safety. 12#1 Sam 8.19But when you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was about to attack you, you rejected the LORD as your king and said to me, ‘We want a king to rule us.’
13“Now here is the king you chose; you asked for him, and now the LORD has given him to you. 14All will go well with you if you honour the LORD your God, serve him, listen to him, and obey his commands, and if you and your king follow him. 15But if you do not listen to the LORD but disobey his commands, he will be against you and your king.#12.15 One ancient translation your king; Hebrew your ancestors. 16So then, stand where you are, and you will see the great thing which the LORD is going to do. 17It's the dry season, isn't it? But I will pray, and the LORD will send thunder and rain. When this happens, you will realize that you committed a great sin against the LORD when you asked him for a king.”
18So Samuel prayed, and on that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. Then all the people became afraid of the LORD and of Samuel, 19and they said to Samuel, “Please, sir, pray to the LORD your God for us, so that we won't die. We now realize that, besides all our other sins, we have sinned by asking for a king.”
20“Don't be afraid,” Samuel answered. “Even though you have done such an evil thing, do not turn away from the LORD, but serve him with all your heart. 21Don't go after#12.21 Some ancient translations after; Hebrew because after. false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real. 22The LORD has made a solemn promise, and he will not abandon you, for he has decided to make you his own people. 23As for me, the LORD forbid that I should sin against him by no longer praying for you. Instead, I will teach you what is good and right for you to do. 24Obey the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Remember the great things he has done for you. 25But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be destroyed.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.