1 Samuel 12

New Living Translation

Samuel’s Farewell Address

12 Then Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have done as you asked and given you a king. ²Your king is now your leader. I stand here before you—an old, gray-haired man—and my sons serve you. I have served as your leader from the time I was a boy to this very day. ³Now testify against me in the presence of the Lord and before his anointed one. Whose ox or donkey have I stolen? Have I ever cheated any of you? Have I ever oppressed you? Have I ever taken a bribe and perverted justice? Tell me and I will make right whatever I have done wrong.”

⁴“No,” they replied, “you have never cheated or oppressed us, and you have never taken even a single bribe.”

⁵“The Lord and his anointed one are my witnesses today,” Samuel declared, “that my hands are clean.”

“Yes, he is a witness,” they replied.

⁶“It was the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron,” Samuel continued. “He brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt. ⁷Now stand here quietly before the Lord as I remind you of all the great things the Lord has done for you and your ancestors.

⁸“When the Israelites were^[a] in Egypt and cried out to the Lord, he sent Moses and Aaron to rescue them from Egypt and to bring them into this land. ⁹But the people soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor’s army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of Moab, who fought against them.

¹⁰“Then they cried to the Lord again and confessed, ‘We have sinned by turning away from the Lord and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.’ ¹¹Then the Lord sent Gideon,^[b] Bedan,^[c] Jephthah, and Samuel^[d] to save you, and you lived in safety.

¹²“But when you were afraid of Nahash, the king of Ammon, you came to me and said that you wanted a king to reign over you, even though the Lord your God was already your king. ¹³All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.

¹⁴“Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice, and if you do not rebel against the Lord’s commands, then both you and your king will show that you recognize the Lord as your God. ¹⁵But if you rebel against the Lord’s commands and refuse to listen to him, then his hand will be as heavy upon you as it was upon your ancestors.

¹⁶“Now stand here and see the great thing the Lord is about to do. ¹⁷You know that it does not rain at this time of the year during the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain today. Then you will realize how wicked you have been in asking the Lord for a king!”

¹⁸So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people were terrified of the Lord and of Samuel. ¹⁹“Pray to the Lord your God for us, or we will die!” they all said to Samuel. “For now we have added to our sins by asking for a king.”

²⁰“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him. ²¹Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you—they are totally useless! ²²The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.

²³“As for me, I will certainly not sin against the Lord by ending my prayers for you. And I will continue to teach you what is good and right. ²⁴But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be swept away.”

Footnotes

12:8 Hebrew When Jacob was. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.
12:11a Hebrew Jerub-baal, another name for Gideon; see Judg 6:32.
12:11b Greek and Syriac versions read Barak.
12:11c Greek and Syriac versions read Samson.

1 Samuel 12

New King James Version

Samuel’s Address at Saul’s Coronation

12 Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have ^[a]heeded ^(A)your voice in all that you said to me, and ^(B)have made a king over you. ²And now here is the king, ^(C)walking before you; ^(D)and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. ³Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before ^(E)His anointed: ^(F)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any ^(G)bribe with which to ^(H)blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”

⁴And they said, ^(I)“You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”

⁵Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, ^(J)that you have not found anything ^(K)in my hand.”

And they answered, “He is witness.”

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, ^(L)“It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷Now therefore, stand still, that I may ^(M)reason with you before the Lord concerning all the ^(N)righteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: ⁸^(O)When Jacob had gone into ^[b]Egypt, and your fathers ^(P)cried out to the Lord, then the Lord ^(Q)sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. ⁹And when they ^(R)forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of ^(S)Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the ^(T)Philistines, and into the hand of the king of ^(U)Moab; and they fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, ^(V)‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^(W)and served the Baals and ^[c]Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹And the Lord sent ^[d]Jerubbaal, ^[e]Bedan, ^(X)Jephthah, and ^(Y)Samuel,^[f] and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. ¹²And when you saw that ^(Z)Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, ^(AA)you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when ^(AB)the Lord your God was your king.

¹³“Now therefore, ^(AC)here is the king ^(AD)whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, ^(AE)the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴If you ^(AF)fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. ¹⁵However, if you do ^(AG)not obey the voice of the Lord, but ^(AH)rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

¹⁶“Now therefore, ^(AI)stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes: ¹⁷Is today not the ^(AJ)wheat harvest? ^(AK)I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and ^(AL)rain, that you may perceive and see that ^(AM)your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.”

¹⁸So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and ^(AN)all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹And all the people said to Samuel, ^(AO)“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”

²⁰Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; ^(AP)yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹And ^(AQ)do not turn aside; ^(AR)for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. ²²For ^(AS)the Lord will not forsake ^(AT)His people, ^(AU)for His great name’s sake, because ^(AV)it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. ²³Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord ^(AW)in ceasing to pray for you; but ^(AX)I will teach you the ^(AY)good and the right way. ²⁴^(AZ)Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for ^(BA)consider what ^(BB)great things He has done for you. ²⁵But if you still do wickedly, ^(BC)you shall be swept away, ^(BD)both you and your king.”

Footnotes

1 Samuel 12:1 listened to
1 Samuel 12:8 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and the Egyptians afflicted them
1 Samuel 12:10 Images of Canaanite goddesses
1 Samuel 12:11 Gideon, cf. Judg. 6:25–32; Syr. Deborah; Tg. Gideon
1 Samuel 12:11 LXX, Syr. Barak; Tg. Simson
1 Samuel 12:11 Syr. Simson

1 Samuel 12

Amplified Bible

Samuel Addresses Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in everything that you have said to me and have appointed a king over you. ²And now, here is the king walking before you. As for me, I am old and gray, and here are my sons with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. ³Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and [Saul] His anointed [if I have done someone wrong]. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes [to the truth]? [Tell me and] I will restore it to you.” ⁴They said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us or taken anything at all from a man’s hand.” ⁵Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you, and [Saul] His anointed is a witness this day that you have not found anything in my hand.” And they answered, “He is a witness.”

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers (ancestors) up from the land of Egypt. ⁷Now then, take your stand, so that I may plead and contend with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and for your fathers. ⁸When Jacob [and his sons] had come into Egypt [and later when the Egyptians oppressed them] and your ^[a]fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹But when they forgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of ^[b]Sisera, commander of Hazor’s army, and into the hand of the Philistines and of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰They cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘We have sinned because we have abandoned (rejected) the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now rescue us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal (Gideon) and ^[c]Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and He rescued you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

¹²But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites had come against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us’—although the Lord your God was your King. ¹³Now therefore, here is [Saul] the king whom you have chosen, and for whom you asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you. ¹⁴If you will fear the Lord [with awe and profound reverence] and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against His commandment, then both you and your king will follow the Lord your God [and it will be well]. ¹⁵But if you do not listen to the Lord’s voice, but rebel against His ^[d]command, then the hand of the Lord will be against you [to punish you], as it was against your fathers. ¹⁶So now, take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. ¹⁷Is it not [the beginning of the] wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain; then you will know [without any doubt], and see that your evil which you have done is great in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.” ¹⁸So Samuel called to the Lord [in prayer], and He sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, ^[e]so that we will not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil—to ask for a king for ourselves.” ²⁰Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have [indeed] done all this evil; yet do not turn away from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹You must not turn away, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or rescue, because they are futile. ²²The Lord will not abandon His people for His great name’s sake, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ²³Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. ²⁴Only fear the Lord [with awe and profound reverence] and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. ²⁵But if you still do evil, both you and your king will be swept away [to destruction].”

Footnotes

1 Samuel 12:8 I.e. the descendants of Jacob (Israel) and his twelve sons.
1 Samuel 12:9 These may be representatives of Israel’s enemies during the time of the Judges: Sisera of Hazor to the north, the Philistines to the west, and Moab to the south and west.
1 Samuel 12:11 Greek and Syriac read Barak.
1 Samuel 12:15 Lit mouth.
1 Samuel 12:19 The fifty days between the beginning of the barley harvest (Passover) and the end of the wheat harvest (Pentecost) are called the “days of trepidation.” During these fifty days, the farmers pray that it will not rain because all the major crops of the land (the seven varieties of Deut 8:7-10) come to fruition during this time. The rain destroys crops in the field and any produce that has been harvested and covered. The resulting famine from the crop failure would result in many deaths.