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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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 12
12
Samuel Speaks About the King
1Samuel said to all Israel: “I have done everything you wanted me to do. I have put a king over you. 2Now you have a king to lead you. I am old and gray, but my sons are here with you. I have been your leader since I was young. 3Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, you must tell these things to the Lord and his chosen king.#12:3 chosen king Literally, “anointed one.” Also in verse 5. Did I steal anyone’s ox or donkey? Did I hurt or cheat anyone? Did I ever take money, or even a pair of sandals, to do something wrong? If I did any of these things, I will make it right.”
4The Israelites answered, “No, you never did anything bad to us. You never cheated us or took things from us.”
5Samuel said to the Israelites, “The Lord and his chosen king are witnesses today. They heard what you said—that you found nothing wrong with me.” The people answered, “Yes, the Lord is witness!”
6Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord has seen what happened. He is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. 7Now, stand there. I will accuse you before the Lord and I will tell you about#12:7 and I will tell you about This is from the ancient Greek version. the good things the Lord did for you and your ancestors.
8“Jacob went to Egypt. Later, the Egyptians made life hard for his descendants. So they cried to the Lord for help. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they took your ancestors out of Egypt and led them to live in this place.
9“But your ancestors forgot the Lord their God. So he let them become the slaves of Sisera, the commander of the army at Hazor. Then the Lord let them become the slaves of the Philistines and the king of Moab. They all fought against your ancestors. 10But your ancestors cried to the Lord for help. They said, ‘We have sinned. We left the Lord, and we served the false gods Baal and Ashtoreth. But now save us from our enemies, and we will serve you.’
11“So the Lord sent Gideon,#12:11 Gideon Literally, “Jerub-Baal,” a nickname given to Gideon earlier. (See Judges 6:32.) Barak,#12:11 Barak This is found in the ancient Greek and Syriac versions. The Hebrew has “Bedan.” Jephthah, and Samuel.#12:11 Samuel The Syriac version and some copies of the Greek version have “Samson.” He saved you from your enemies around you, and you lived in safety. 12But then you saw King Nahash of the Ammonites coming to fight against you. You said, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us!’ You said that, even though the Lord your God was already your king. 13Now, here is the king you chose. The Lord put this king over you. 14You must fear and respect the Lord. You must serve him and obey his commands. You must not turn against him. You and the king ruling over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, God will save you.#12:14 If you do, God will save you This is from the ancient Greek version. 15But if you don’t listen to the Lord, if you refuse to do what the Lord says, he will be against you. The Lord will destroy you and your king.
16“Now stand still and see the great thing the Lord will do before your eyes. 17Now is the time of the wheat harvest.#12:17 time of … harvest This was the dry time of year when no rains fell. I will pray to the Lord and ask him to send thunder and rain. Then you will know you did a very bad thing against the Lord when you asked for a king.”
18So Samuel prayed to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. And the people became very afraid of the Lord and Samuel. 19All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants. Don’t let us die! We have sinned many times. And now we have added to these sins—we have asked for a king.”
20Samuel answered, “Don’t be afraid. It is true that you did all these bad things, but don’t stop following the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 21Idols are only statues—they can’t help you. So don’t worship them. Idols can’t help you or save you. They are nothing!
22“But the Lord won’t leave his people. No, the Lord was pleased to make you his own people. So for his own good name, he won’t leave you. 23And as for me, I would never stop praying for you. If I stopped praying for you, I would be sinning against the Lord. I will continue to teach you the right way to live a good life. 24But you must honor the Lord. You must serve him sincerely with all your heart. Remember the wonderful things he has done for you. 25But if you are stubborn and do evil, God will throw you and your king away, like dirt swept out with a broom.”
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