1 Samuel 12:1-15
English Standard Version
Samuel's Farewell Address
12 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed (A)your voice in all that you have said to me (B)and have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king (C)walks before you, (D)and I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify 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 defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me[a] and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and (G)his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything (H)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”
6 And Samuel said to the people, (I)“The Lord is witness,[b] who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 (J)When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them,[c] (K)then your fathers cried out to the Lord and (L)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, (M)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But (N)they forgot the Lord their God. (O)And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor,[d] (P)and into the hand of the Philistines, (Q)and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 (R)And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord (S)and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now (T)deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent (U)Jerubbaal (V)and Barak[e] (W)and Jephthah and (X)Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that (Y)Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, (Z)you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ (AA)when the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now (AB)behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, (AC)the Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will (AD)fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But (AE)if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then (AF)the hand of the Lord will be against you and (AG)your king.[f]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 12:3 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me
- 1 Samuel 12:6 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness
- 1 Samuel 12:8 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them
- 1 Samuel 12:9 Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor
- 1 Samuel 12:11 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan
- 1 Samuel 12:15 Septuagint; Hebrew fathers
1 Samuel 12:1-15
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)
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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