1 Samuel 12:1-15

GOD’S WORD Translation

Samuel’s Spotless Leadership

12 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you have said to me and appointed a king over you. ² And now, here is the king who will lead you. I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day. ³ Here I am. Testify against me in front of the Lord and in front of his anointed king. Did I take anyone’s ox? Did I take anyone’s donkey? Did I cheat or oppress anyone? Did I take a bribe from anyone to look the other way? ⌞If so,⌟ I will give it all back.”

⁴ They answered, “You didn’t cheat us, oppress us, or take anything from anyone.”

⁵ Samuel told them, “The Lord is a witness to what you’ve said, and his anointed king is a witness today that you’ve found nothing in my hands.”

“He is a witness,” they answered.

⁶ Samuel told the people, “The Lord appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. ⁷ Now, stand up while I put you on trial in front of the Lord and cite all the righteous things the Lord did for you and your ancestors. ⁸ When your ancestors went with Jacob to Egypt ⌞and were oppressed⌟, they cried out to the Lord, who sent Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt. The Lord settled them in this place. ⁹ But they forgot the Lord their God. So he handed them over to Sisera, who was the commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. All of them fought against your ancestors. ¹⁰ Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned. We have abandoned the Lord and served other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Astartes. But rescue us from our enemies now, and we will serve you.’

¹¹ “Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel and rescued you from your enemies on every side so that you could live securely. ¹² But when you saw King Nahash of Ammon coming to attack you, you told me, ‘No, a king should rule over us,’ though the Lord your God was your king.

The New Kingship

¹³ “Now, here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for. See, the Lord has put a king over you. ¹⁴ If you fear the Lord, serve him, obey him, and don’t rebel against what he says, then you and your king will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵ But if you don’t obey the Lord, if you rebel against what he says, then the Lord will be against you as he was against your ancestors.