1 Samuel 12
Legacy Standard Bible
Samuel Speaks to Israel
12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, (A)I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I (B)have [a]appointed a king over you. 2 So now, (C)here is the king walking before you, but (D)I am old and gray, and behold, (E)my sons are with you. And (F)I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. 3 Here I am; bear witness against me before Yahweh and (G)His anointed. (H)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or (I)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” 4 And they said, “You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 So he said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that (J)you have found nothing (K)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who [b](L)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 So now, take your stand, (M)that I may judge you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh which He did for you and your fathers. 8 (N)When Jacob went into Egypt and (O)your fathers cried out to Yahweh, then (P)Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron [c](Q)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But (R)they forgot Yahweh their God, so (S)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and (T)into the hand of the Philistines and (U)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 (V)And they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served (W)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but (X)now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then Yahweh sent (Y)Jerubbaal and [d](Z)Bedan and (AA)Jephthah and (AB)Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. 12 But you saw (AC)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said to me, ‘(AD)No, but a king shall reign over us,’ (AE)although Yahweh your God was your king. 13 So now, (AF)behold, the king whom you have chosen, (AG)whom you have asked for, and behold, Yahweh has set a king over you. 14 (AH)If you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the [e]command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God. 15 (AI)But if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the [f]command of Yahweh, then (AJ)the hand of Yahweh will be against you, (AK)as it was against your fathers. 16 Even now, (AL)take your stand and see this great thing which Yahweh will do before your eyes. 17 (AM)Is it not the wheat harvest today? (AN)I will call to Yahweh, that He may send [g]thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that (AO)your wickedness is great which you have done in the eyes of Yahweh by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent [h]thunder and rain that day; and (AP)all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.
19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “(AQ)Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins (AR)this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet (AS)do not turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart. 21 And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after (AT)meaningless things which cannot profit and cannot deliver, because they are meaningless. 22 For (AU)Yahweh will not abandon His people (AV)on account of His great name, because Yahweh (AW)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, (AX)far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you; but (AY)I will instruct you in the good and upright way. 24 (AZ)Only [i]fear Yahweh and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for see (BA)what great things He has done for you. 25 (BB)But if you still do wickedly, (BC)both you and your king (BD)will be swept away.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 12:1 Lit made
- 1 Samuel 12:6 Lit made
- 1 Samuel 12:8 Lit and they brought
- 1 Samuel 12:11 Gr and Syr Barak
- 1 Samuel 12:14 Lit mouth
- 1 Samuel 12:15 Lit mouth
- 1 Samuel 12:17 Lit sounds
- 1 Samuel 12:18 Lit sounds
- 1 Samuel 12:24 Or reverence
1 Samuel 12
Christian Standard Bible
Samuel’s Final Public Speech
12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.(A) 2 Now 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 now. 3 Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and his anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken?(B) Who have I wronged or mistreated? Who gave me a bribe to overlook something?[a](C) 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,” they responded.
5 He said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and his anointed is a witness today that you haven’t found anything(D) in my hand.”(E)
“He is a witness,” they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron(F) and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt, is a witness.[b] 7 Now 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,[c] your ancestors cried out to the Lord,(G) and he sent them Moses and Aaron, who led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.(H) 9 But they forgot the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera(I) commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab.(J) These enemies fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, for we abandoned the Lord and worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now rescue us from the power of our enemies,(K) and we will serve you.’ 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal,(L) Barak,[d](M) Jephthah,(N) and Samuel.(O) He rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived securely. 12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.
13 “Now here is the king you’ve chosen,(P) the one you requested.(Q) Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you. 14 If you fear the Lord,(R) worship and obey him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 However, if you disobey the Lord(S) and rebel against his command, the Lord’s hand will be against you(T) as it was against your ancestors.[e](U)
16 “Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.(V) 17 Isn’t the wheat harvest today?(W) I will call on the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain so that you will recognize what an immense evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”(X) 18 Samuel 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.(Y)
19 They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants(Z) so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”(AA)
20 Samuel replied, “Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord.(AB) Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart. 21 Don’t turn away to follow worthless[f] things that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless.(AC) 22 The Lord will not abandon his people,(AD) because of his great name and because he has determined to make you his own people.(AE)
23 “As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you.(AF) I will teach you the good and right way. 24 Above all, fear the Lord and worship him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things he has done for you.(AG) 25 However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”(AH)
Footnotes
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.