1 Samuel 12
12
1And Samuel saith unto all Israel, ‘Lo, I have hearkened to your voice, to all that ye said to me, and I cause to reign over you a king,
2and now, lo, the king is walking habitually before you, and I have become aged and gray-headed, and my sons, lo, they [are] with you, and I have walked habitually before you from my youth till this day.
3‘Lo, here [am] I; testify against me, over-against Jehovah, and over-against His anointed; whose ox have I taken, and whose ass have I taken, and whom have I oppressed; whom have I bruised, and of whose hand have I taken a ransom, and hide mine eyes with it? — and I restore to you.’
4And they say, ‘Thou hast not oppressed us, nor hast thou crushed us, nor hast thou taken from the hand of any one anything.’
5And he saith unto them, ‘A witness [is] Jehovah against you: and a witness [is] His anointed this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand;’ and they say, ‘A witness.’
6And Samuel saith unto the people, ‘Jehovah — He who made Moses and Aaron, and who brought up your fathers out of the land of Egypt!
7and, now, station yourselves, and I judge you before Jehovah, with all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which He did with you, and with your fathers.
8‘When Jacob hath come in to Egypt, and your fathers cry unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sendeth Moses and Aaron, and they bring out your fathers from Egypt, and cause them to dwell in this place,
9and they forget Jehovah their God, and He selleth them into the hand of Sisera, head of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fight against them,
10and they cry unto Jehovah, and say, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and now, deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we serve Thee.
11‘And Jehovah sendeth Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivereth you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and ye dwell confidently.
12‘And ye see that Nahash king of the Bene-Ammon hath come against you, and ye say to me, Nay, but a king doth reign over us; and Jehovah your God [is] your king!
13And, now, lo, the king whom ye have chosen — whom ye have asked! and lo, Jehovah hath placed over you a king.
14‘If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been — both ye and the king who hath reigned over you — after Jehovah your God.
15‘And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah — then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and against your fathers.
16‘Also now, station yourselves and see this great thing which Jehovah is doing before your eyes;
17is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I call unto Jehovah, and He doth give voices and rain; and know ye and see that your evil is great which ye have done in the eyes of Jehovah, to ask for you a king.’
18And Samuel calleth unto Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth voices and rain, on that day, and all the people greatly fear Jehovah and Samuel;
19and all the people say unto Samuel, ‘Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, and we do not die, for we have added to all our sins evil to ask for us a king.’
20And Samuel saith unto the people, ‘Fear not; ye have done all this evil; only, turn not aside from after Jehovah — and ye have served Jehovah with all your heart,
21and ye do not turn aside after the vain things which do not profit nor deliver, for they [are] vain,
22for Jehovah doth not leave His people, on account of His great name; for Jehovah hath been pleased to make you to Him for a people.
23‘I, also, far be it from me to sin against Jehovah, by ceasing to pray for you, and I have directed you in the good and upright way;
24only, fear ye Jehovah, and ye have served Him in truth with all your heart, for see that which He hath made great with you;
25and if ye really do evil, both ye and your king are consumed.’
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1 Samuel 12: YLT98
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1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel's Farewell Speech
1Samuel told the Israelites:
I have given you a king, just as you asked. 2You have seen how I have led you ever since I was a young man. I'm already old. My hair is gray, and my own sons are grown. Now you must see how well your king will lead you.
3 #
Si 46.19. Let me ask this. Have I ever taken anyone's ox or donkey or forced you to give me anything? Have I ever hurt anyone or taken a bribe to give an unfair decision? Answer me so the Lord and his chosen king can hear you. And if I have done any of these things, I will give it all back.
4“No,” the Israelites answered. “You've never cheated us in any way!”
5Samuel said, “The Lord and his chosen king are witnesses to what you have said.”
“That's true,” they replied.
6 #
Ex 6.26. Then Samuel told them:
The Lord brought your ancestors out of Egypt and chose Moses and Aaron to be your leaders. 7Now the Lord will be your judge. So stand here and listen, while I remind you how often the Lord has saved you and your ancestors from your enemies.
8 #
Ex 2.23. After Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your ancestors out of Egypt and led them here to settle this land. 9#Jg 4.2; Jg 13.1; Jg 3.12. But your ancestors forgot the Lord, so he let them be defeated by the Philistines, the king of Moab, and Sisera, the commander of Hazor's army.
10 #
Jg 10.10-15. #3 Macc 2.12. Again your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help. They said, “We have sinned! We stopped worshiping you, our Lord, and started worshiping Baal and Astarte. But now, if you rescue us from our enemies, we will worship you.”
11 #
Jg 7.1;
Jg 4.6;
Jg 11.29;
1 S 3.20. The Lord sent Gideon,#12.11 Gideon: The Hebrew text has “Jerubbaal,” another name for “Gideon.” Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to rescue you from your enemies, and you didn't have to worry about being attacked. 12#1 S 8.19. Then you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was going to attack you. And even though the Lord your God is your king, you told me, “This time it's different. We want a king to rule us!”
13You asked for a king, and you chose one. Now he stands here where all of you can see him. But it was really the Lord who made him your king. 14If you and your king want to be followers of the Lord, you must worship him#12.14 If … him: Or “If you and your king want things to go well for you, then you must worship the Lord.” and do what he says. Don't be stubborn! 15If you're stubborn and refuse to obey the Lord, he will turn against you and your king.#12.15 and your king: One ancient translation; Hebrew “and your ancestors” or “as he was against your ancestors.”
16Just stand here and watch the Lord show his mighty power. 17Isn't this the dry season?#12.17 the dry season: The Hebrew text has “time for wheat harvest,” which was usually in the spring, the beginning of the dry season. I'm going to ask the Lord to send a thunderstorm. When you see it, you will realize how wrong you were to ask for a king.
18Samuel prayed, and that same day the Lord sent a thunderstorm. Everyone was afraid of the Lord and of Samuel. 19They told Samuel, “Please, pray to the Lord your God for us! We don't want to die. We have sinned many times in the past, and we were very wrong to ask for a king.”
20Samuel answered:
Even though what you did was wrong, you don't need to be afraid. But you must always follow the Lord and worship him with all your heart. 21Don't worship idols! They don't have any power, and they can't help you or save you when you're in trouble. 22But the Lord has chosen you to be his own people. He will always take care of you so that everyone will know how great he is.
23I would be disobeying the Lord if I stopped praying for you! I will always teach you how to live right. 24You also must obey the Lord—you must worship him with all your heart and remember the great things he has done for you. 25But if you and your king do evil, the Lord will wipe you out.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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