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 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
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