1 Samuel 12:1-15
Holman 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 today. 3 Here I am. Bring charges against me before the Lord and His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken?(B) Whom have I wronged or mistreated? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to overlook something?[a][b](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’s hand,” 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.[c] 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,[d] 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 deliver us from the power of our enemies,(K) and we will serve You.’ 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal,(L) Barak,[e](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 rule 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 rules 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) and against your ancestors.[f](U)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 12:3 LXX reads bribe or a pair of shoes? Testify against me.
- 1 Samuel 12:3 Lit bribe and will hide my eyes with it?
- 1 Samuel 12:6 LXX; MT omits is a witness
- 1 Samuel 12:8 LXX reads When Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and Egypt humbled them
- 1 Samuel 12:11 LXX, Syr; MT reads Bedan; Jdg 4:6; Heb 11:32
- 1 Samuel 12:15 LXX reads your king
1 Samuel 12:1-15
Common English Bible
Samuel’s last speech
12 Samuel said to all Israel: “Listen: I have done everything you asked of me and have placed a king over you. 2 The king will lead you now. I am old and gray, though my sons are still with you, and I’ve been your leader since I was young until now. 3 So I’m here: Tell the truth about me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Have I ever stolen someone’s ox? Have I ever taken someone’s donkey? Have I ever oppressed or mistreated anyone? Have I ever taken bribes from someone and looked the other way about something? Tell me the truth.[a] I will make it right.”
4 “You haven’t oppressed or mistreated us, and you’ve never taken anything from anyone,” the people answered.
5 Samuel replied, “The Lord and his anointed one are witnesses against you today that you haven’t found anything in my possession.”
“Agreed,” they said.
6 Then Samuel told the people: “The witness[b] is indeed the Lord, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt. 7 So now stand here, and I will judge you in the Lord’s presence because of all the Lord’s righteous acts that he has done for you and your ancestors:
8 “When Jacob entered Egypt, the Egyptians oppressed them.[c] So your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord then sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them here. 9 But your ancestors forgot the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera the commander of Hazor’s army, and to the Philistines, and to the Moabite king, all of whom fought against them. 10 Then your ancestors cried out to the Lord and said: ‘We have sinned because we have abandoned the Lord and have worshipped the Baals and the Astartes. But now deliver us from the power of our enemies, and we will worship you.’ 11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Barak,[d] Jephthah, and Samson,[e] and he delivered you from the power of your enemies on every side. And you lived safe and secure. 12 But when you saw that Nahash the Ammonite king was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No! There must be a king to rule over us.’ But the Lord your God was already your king!
13 “So now, here is the king you chose, the one you asked for. Yes, the Lord has put a king over you! 14 If you will fear the Lord, worship him, obey him, and not rebel against the Lord’s command, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God—all will be well. 15 But if you don’t obey the Lord and rebel against the Lord’s command, then the Lord’s power will go against you and your king to destroy you.[f]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 12:3 LXX
- 1 Samuel 12:6 LXX; MT lacks witness.
- 1 Samuel 12:8 LXX; MT lacks the Egyptians oppressed them.
- 1 Samuel 12:11 LXX, Syr; MT Bedan
- 1 Samuel 12:11 Syr (cf Targ), LXXL Samson; MT, LXXAB Samuel
- 1 Samuel 12:15 LXXL; MT against you and against your ancestors
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