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.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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I Samuel 12
12
Samuel’s Address at Saul’s Coronation
1Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have heeded #Josh. 8:31; 1 Sam. 10:8your voice in all that you said to me, and #1 Sam. 8:5, 7, 9, 20, 22have made a king over you. 2And now here is the king, #1 Sam. 10:24; 11:14, 15walking before you; #Num. 27:17; 1 Sam. 8:20and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before #1 Sam. 8:1, 5His anointed: #1 Sam. 10:1; 24:6; 2 Sam. 1:14, 16Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any #Num. 16:15; Acts 20:33; 1 Thess. 2:5bribe with which to #Ex. 23:8blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4And they said, #Deut. 16:19“You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”
5Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, #Lev. 19:13that you have not found anything #John 18:38; Acts 23:9; 24:20in my hand.”
And they answered, “He is witness.”
6Then Samuel said to the people, #Ex. 22:4“It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7Now therefore, stand still, that I may #Ex. 6:26; Mic. 6:4reason with you before the Lord concerning all the #Is. 1:18; Ezek. 20:35; Mic. 6:1–5righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: 8#Judg. 5:11; Ps. 103:6When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers #Gen. 46:5, 6; Ps. 105:23cried out to the Lord, then the Lord #Ex. 2:23–25sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9And when they #Ex. 3:10; 4:14–16forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of #Deut. 32:18; Judg. 3:7Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the #Judg. 4:2Philistines, and into the hand of the king of #Judg. 3:31; 10:7; 13:1Moab; and they fought against them. 10Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, #Judg. 3:12–30‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord #Judg. 10:10and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, #Judg. 2:13; 3:7Jephthah, and #Judg. 11:1Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12And when you saw that #1 Sam. 7:13Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, #1 Sam. 11:1, 2you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when #1 Sam. 8:5, 19, 20the Lord your God was your king.
13“Now therefore, #Judg. 8:23; 1 Sam. 8:7; Ps. 59:13here is the king #1 Sam. 10:24whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, #1 Sam. 8:5; 12:17, 19the Lord has set a king over you. 14If you #Hos. 13:11fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. 15However, if you do #Josh. 24:14not obey the voice of the Lord, but #Deut. 28:15rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16“Now therefore, #Lev. 26:14, 15; Josh. 24:20; Is. 1:20stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes: 17Is today not the #Ex. 14:13, 31wheat harvest? #Gen. 30:14I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and #Josh. 10:12; 1 Sam. 7:9, 10; (James 5:16–18)rain, that you may perceive and see that #Ezra 10:9your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.”
18So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and #1 Sam. 8:7all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19And all the people said to Samuel, #Ex. 14:31“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”
20Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; #Ex. 9:28; 1 Sam. 7:8; (James 5:15; 1 John 5:16)yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21And #Deut. 11:16do not turn aside; #2 Chr. 25:15for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 22For #Is. 41:29; Jer. 16:19; Hab. 2:18; 1 Cor. 8:4the Lord will not forsake #Deut. 31:6; 1 Kin. 6:13His people, #Is. 43:21for His great name’s sake, because #Ex. 32:12; Num. 14:13; Josh. 7:9; Ps. 106:8; Jer. 14:21it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. 23Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord #Deut. 7:6–11; 1 Pet. 2:9in ceasing to pray for you; but #Acts 12:5; Rom. 1:9; Col. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1:3I will teach you the #Ps. 34:11; Prov. 4:11good and the right way. 24#1 Kin. 8:36Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for #Eccl. 12:13consider what #Is. 5:12great things He has done for you. 25But if you still do wickedly, #Deut. 10:21you shall be swept away, #Josh. 24:20both you and your king.”
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