1 Samuel 12:6-13

The Voice

Samuel: ⁶ The Eternal One is our witness, the One who first raised Moses and Aaron to be leaders of the people, the One who brought your ancestors here out of the oppression of Egypt. ⁷ Now stand ready as I will present to you, before the Eternal One, a declaration of all the righteous acts the Eternal has done on behalf of you and your ancestors.

⁸ When Jacob went down into Egypt, your ancestors cried to the Eternal One for help, and the Eternal raised Moses and Aaron to lead your ancestors out of their bondage and bring them to this land. ⁹ But once they were here, they forgot the Eternal One, their True God, so He allowed Sisera, the general of the armies of Hazor, and later the Philistines and then the king of Moab to subdue them. So the people had to fight for their survival. ¹⁰ Under this heavy oppression, the people cried out to the Eternal, confessing, “We have sinned. We have forsaken the Eternal to serve the local gods.^[a] But if You will save us now from the heavy hands of our enemies, we will serve You.” ¹¹ Then the Eternal One raised up Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, who pulled you out of the grasp of your enemies and brought peace from warfare on every side so that you could live in safety. ¹² But when you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was arrayed for battle against you, you ran to me, saying, “Give us a king to rule over us,” even though the Eternal One, your True God, has always been your king. ¹³ So now, look: here is the king you chose, the king for whom you asked. The Eternal has indeed set a king to rule over you.