1 Samuel 12
1599 Geneva Bible
12 1 Samuel declaring to the people his integrity, reproveth their ingratitude. 19 God by miracle causeth the people to confess their sin. 20 Samuel exhorteth the people to follow the Lord.
1 Samuel then said unto all Israel, Behold, I have [a]hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have appointed a King over you.
2 Now therefore behold, your King walketh [b]before you, and I am old and gray headed, and behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.
3 Behold, here I am: bear record of me before the Lord and before his anointed. [c]Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I done wrong to? or whom have I hurt? or of whose hand have I received any bribe, to blind mine eyes therewith, and I will restore it you?
4 Then they said, Thou hast done us no wrong, nor hast hurt us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand.
5 And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his [d]Anointed is witness this day, that ye have found nought in mine hands. And they answered, He is witness.
6 Then Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that [e]made Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord according to all the [f]righteousness of the Lord, which he showed to you and to your fathers.
8 (A)After that Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord (B)sent Moses and Aaron which brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.
9 (C)And when they forgot the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera [g]captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
10 And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baal and Ashtoreth. Now therefore deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, and we will serve thee.
11 Therefore the Lord sent Jerubbaal [h]and Bedan and (D)Jephthah, and (E)Samuel, and delivered you out of the hands of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe.
12 Notwithstanding when you saw, that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, [i]No, but a king shall reign over us: when yet the Lord your God was your King.
13 Now therefore behold the King whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired: lo therefore, the Lord hath set a King over you.
14 If ye will fear the Lord and serve him, and hear his voice, and not disobey the word of the Lord, both ye, and the king that reigneth over you, shall [j]follow the Lord your God.
15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but disobey the Lord’s mouth, then shall the hand of the Lord be upon you, and on your [k]fathers.
16 Now also stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.
17 Is it not now wheat harvest? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain, that ye may perceive and see, how that your wickedness is [l]great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord in asking you a king.
18 Then Samuel called unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain the same day: and all the people feared the Lord and Samuel exceedingly.
19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have sinned in asking us a King, beside [m]all our other sins.
20 ¶ And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not, (ye have indeed done all this wickedness, [n]yet depart not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart,
21 Neither turn ye back: for that should be after vain things which cannot profit you, nor deliver you, for they are but vanity.)
22 For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great Name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you [o]his people.
23 Moreover God forbid, that I should sin against the Lord, and cease praying for you, but I will show you the good and right way.
24 Therefore fear you the Lord, and serve him in the truth with all your [p]hearts, and consider how great things he hath done for you.
25 But if ye do wickedly, ye shall perish, both ye and your King.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 12:1 I have granted your petition.
- 1 Samuel 12:2 To govern you in peace and war.
- 1 Samuel 12:3 God would that this confession should be a pattern for all them that have any charge or office.
- 1 Samuel 12:5 Your King, who is anointed by the commandment of the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 12:6 Or, exalted.
- 1 Samuel 12:7 Or, benefits.
- 1 Samuel 12:9 Captain of Jabin’s host, King of Hazor.
- 1 Samuel 12:11 That is, Samson, Judg. 13:25.
- 1 Samuel 12:12 Leaving God to seek the help of man, 1 Sam. 8:5.
- 1 Samuel 12:14 Ye shall be preserved as they that follow the Lord’s will.
- 1 Samuel 12:15 Meaning, the governors.
- 1 Samuel 12:17 In that ye have forsaken him, who hath all power in his hand, for a mortal man.
- 1 Samuel 12:19 Not only at other times, but now chiefly.
- 1 Samuel 12:20 He showeth that there is no sin so great, but it shall be forgiven, if the sinner turn again to God.
- 1 Samuel 12:22 Of his free mercy, and not of your merits, and therefore he will not forsake you.
- 1 Samuel 12:24 Unfeignedly, and without hypocrisy.
1 Samuel 12
New International Reader's Version
Samuel’s Final Speech to Israel
12 Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “I’ve done everything you asked me to do. I’ve placed a king over you. 2 Now you have a king as your leader. But I’m old. My hair is gray. My sons are here with you. I’ve been your leader from the time I was young until this day. 3 Here I stand. Bring charges against me if you can. The Lord is a witness. And so is his anointed king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I cheated anyone? Have I treated anyone badly? Have I accepted money from anyone who wanted special favors? If I’ve done any of these things, I’ll make it right.”
4 “You haven’t cheated us,” they replied. “You haven’t treated us badly. You haven’t taken anything from anyone.”
5 Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you this day. And so is his anointed king. They are witnesses that I haven’t taken anything from any of you.”
“The Lord is a witness,” they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord appointed Moses and Aaron. He brought out of Egypt your people who lived long ago. 7 Now then, stand here. I’m going to remind you of all the good things the Lord has done for you and your people. He is a witness.
8 “After Jacob’s family entered Egypt, they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your people out of Egypt. They had them make their homes in this land.
9 “But the people forgot the Lord their God. So he put them under the control of Sisera. Sisera was the commander of the army of Hazor. The Lord also put the Israelites under the control of the Philistines and the king of Moab. All those nations fought against Israel. 10 So the people cried out to the Lord. They said, ‘We have sinned. We’ve deserted the Lord. We’ve served gods that are named Baal. We’ve served female gods that are named Ashtoreth. But save us now from the power of our enemies. Then we will serve you.’ 11 The Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and me. He saved you from the power of your enemies who were all around you. So you lived in safety.
12 “But then you saw that Nahash, the king of Ammon, was about to attack you. So you said to me, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ You said it even though the Lord your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen. He’s the one you asked for. The Lord has placed a king over you. 14 But you must have respect for the Lord. You must serve him and obey him. You must not say no to his commands. Both you and the king who rules over you must obey the Lord your God. If you do, that’s good. 15 But you must not disobey him. You must not say no to his commands. If you do, his power will be against you. That’s what happened to your people who lived before you.
16 “So stand still. Watch the great thing the Lord is about to do right here in front of you! 17 It’s time to gather in the wheat, isn’t it? I’ll call out to the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what an evil thing you did in the sight of the Lord. You shouldn’t have asked for a king.”
18 Samuel called out to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people had great respect for the Lord and for Samuel.
19 They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us. Pray that we won’t die because we asked for a king. That was an evil thing to do. We added it to all our other sins.”
20 “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel replied. “It’s true that you have done all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve him with all your heart. 21 Don’t turn away and worship statues of gods. They are useless. They can’t do you any good. They can’t save you either. They are completely useless. 22 But the Lord will be true to his great name. He won’t turn his back on his people. That’s because he was pleased to make you his own people. 23 I would never sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I’ll teach you to live in a way that is good and right. 24 But be sure to have respect for the Lord. Serve him faithfully. Do it with all your heart. Think about the great things he has done for you. 25 But don’t be stubborn. Don’t continue to do what is evil. If you do, both you and your king will be destroyed.”
1 Samuel 12
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
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 grey, 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 worshipped 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 recognise 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
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