Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought(A) your ancestors up out of Egypt. Now then, stand(B) here, because I am going to confront(C) you with evidence before the Lord as to all the righteous acts(D) performed by the Lord for you and your ancestors.

“After Jacob(E) entered Egypt, they cried(F) to the Lord for help, and the Lord sent(G) Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

“But they forgot(H) the Lord their God; so he sold them(I) into the hand of Sisera,(J) the commander of the army of Hazor,(K) and into the hands of the Philistines(L) and the king of Moab,(M) who fought against them. 10 They cried(N) out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken(O) the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths.(P) But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ 11 Then the Lord sent Jerub-Baal,[a](Q) Barak,[b](R) Jephthah(S) and Samuel,[c](T) and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.

12 “But when you saw that Nahash(U) king(V) of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule(W) over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king(X) you have chosen, the one you asked(Y) for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you fear(Z) the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel(AA) against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! 15 But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against(AB) his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.

16 “Now then, stand still(AC) and see(AD) this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest(AE) now? I will call(AF) on the Lord to send thunder(AG) and rain.(AH) And you will realize what an evil(AI) thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 12:11 Also called Gideon
  2. 1 Samuel 12:11 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew Bedan
  3. 1 Samuel 12:11 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac Samson

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