1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel’s Farewell Address
1And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed #ch. 8:5, 19, 20 your voice in all that you have said to me #ch. 10:24; 11:14, 15and have made a king over you. 2And now, behold, the king #[ch. 8:20; Num. 27:17] walks before you, #ch. 8:1, 5and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before #ch. 24:6; 26:9, 11, 16; 2 Sam. 1:14, 16; [ch. 10:1] his anointed. #[Ex. 20:17; Num. 16:15]Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me#12:3 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me and I will restore it to you.” 4They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and #[See ver. 3 above] his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything #Ex. 21:16; 22:4in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”
6And Samuel said to the people, #[Mic. 6:4]“The Lord is witness,#12:6 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8#Gen. 46:5, 6 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,#12:8 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them #Ex. 2:23 then your fathers cried out to the Lord and #Ex. 3:10; 4:14-16 the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, #[ch. 10:18]who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9But #Judg. 3:7 they forgot the Lord their God. #Judg. 4:2 And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,#12:9 Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor #Judg. 10:7; 13:1; [Judg. 3:31] and into the hand of the Philistines, #Judg. 3:12and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10#Judg. 10:10; [Judg. 3:9] And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord #Judg. 2:13 and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now #Judg. 10:15deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11And the Lord sent #Judg. 6:14, 32 Jerubbaal #Judg. 4:6, 8, 10 and Barak#12:11 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan #Judg. 11:1 and Jephthah and #See ch. 7:10-13Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12And when you saw that #ch. 11:1 Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, #ch. 8:5, 19 you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ #[ch. 8:7; 10:19; Judg. 8:23]when the Lord your God was your king. 13And now #ch. 10:24 behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, #ch. 9:16, 17; [Hos. 13:11]the Lord has set a king over you. 14If you will #ver. 24; Deut. 6:2; Josh. 24:14fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15But #Lev. 26:14, 15; Deut. 28:15; Josh. 24:20 if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then #ch. 5:9 the hand of the Lord will be against you and #[ver. 9]your king.#12:15 Septuagint; Hebrew fathers 16Now therefore #Ex. 14:13stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17#[Prov. 26:1] Is it not wheat harvest today? #ch. 7:9, 10; [James 5:16-18] I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that #ch. 8:7your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, #Ex. 14:31; [Ezra 10:9]and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19And all the people said to Samuel, #ver. 23; [Ex. 9:28; 10:17; Jer. 15:1]“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet #Deut. 11:16do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21And #[See ver. 20 above] do not turn aside after #Jer. 16:19; Hab. 2:18; [1 Cor. 8:4]empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22#1 Kgs. 6:13; Ps. 94:14; [1 Kgs. 8:57] For the Lord will not forsake his people, #Josh. 7:9; Ps. 106:8; Jer. 14:21; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22 for his great name’s sake, because #Deut. 7:7, 8; 14:2; [1 Pet. 2:9]it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing #See ver. 19 to pray for you, #1 Kgs. 8:36; 2 Chr. 6:27; Ps. 27:11; [Prov. 4:11; Jer. 6:16]and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24#ver. 14; [Eccles. 12:13] Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider #Deut. 10:21; Ps. 126:2, 3what great things he has done for you. 25But if you still do wickedly, #Josh. 24:20; [Num. 16:26] you shall be swept away, #[Deut. 28:36]both you and your king.”
Currently Selected:
1 Samuel 12: ESV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Sign up to receive news and updates about the ESV:
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
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.