Samuel Addresses Israel

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^(A)I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I ^(B)have ^[a]appointed a king over you. ² Now, ^(C)here is the king walking before you, but ^(D)I am old and gray, and behold ^(E)my sons are with you. And ^(F)I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. ³ Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and ^(G)His anointed. ^(H)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(I)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? 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 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(J)you have found nothing ^(K)in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^[b](L)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷ So now, take your stand, ^(M)that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers. ^8 (N)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(O)your fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^(P)the Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^[c](Q)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹ But ^(R)they forgot the Lord their God, so ^(S)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and ^(T)into the hand of the Philistines and ^(U)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ^10 (V)They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served ^(W)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(X)now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹ Then the Lord sent ^(Y)Jerubbaal and ^[d](Z)Bedan and ^(AA)Jephthah and ^(AB)Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

¹² When you saw ^(AC)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘^(AD)No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^(AE)although the Lord your God was your king. ¹³ Now therefore, ^(AF)here is the king whom you have chosen, ^(AG)whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. ^14 (AH)If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^[e]command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. ^15 (AI)If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^[f]command of the Lord, then ^(AJ)the hand of the Lord will be against you, ^(AK)as it was against your fathers.