I Samuel 12

¹And Samuel said to all Israel, You see that I have given ear to everything you said to me, and have made a king over you.

²And now, see, the king is before you: and I am old and grey-headed, and my sons are with you: I have been living before your eyes from my early days till now.

³Here I am: give witness against me before the Lord and before the man on whom he has put the holy oil: whose ox or ass have I taken? to whom have I been untrue? who has been crushed down by me? from whose hand have I taken a price for the blinding of my eyes? I will give it all back to you.

⁴And they said, You have never been untrue to us or cruel to us; you have taken nothing from any man.

⁵Then he said, The Lord is witness against you, and the man on whom he has put the holy oil is witness this day that you have seen no wrong in me. And they said, He is witness.

⁶And Samuel said to the people, The Lord is witness, who gave authority to Moses and Aaron, and who took your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

⁷Keep your places now, while I take up the argument with you before the Lord, and give you the story of the righteousness of the Lord, which he has made clear by his acts to you and to your fathers.

⁸When Jacob and his sons had come into Egypt, and were crushed by the Egyptians, the prayers of your fathers came up to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your fathers out of Egypt, and he put them into this place.

⁹But they were false to the Lord their God, and he gave them up into the hands of Sisera, captain of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab, who made war against them.

¹⁰Then crying out to the Lord, they said, We have done evil, because we have been turned away from the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes: but now, make us safe from those who are against us and we will be your servants.

¹¹So the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and took you out of the power of those who were fighting against you on every side, and made you safe.

¹²And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was coming against you, you said to me, No more of this; we will have a king for our ruler: when the Lord your God was your king.

¹³Here, then, is the king marked out by you: the Lord has put a king over you.

¹⁴If in the fear of the Lord you are his servants, hearing his voice and not going against the orders of the Lord, but being true to the Lord your God, you and the king ruling over you, then all will be well:

¹⁵But if you do not give ear to the voice of the Lord, but go against his orders, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and against your king for your destruction, as it was against your fathers.

¹⁶Now keep where you are and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

¹⁷Is it not now the time of the grain cutting? My cry will go up to the Lord and he will send thunder and rain: so that you may see and be conscious of your great sin which you have done in the eyes of the Lord in desiring a king for yourselves.

¹⁸So Samuel made prayer to the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people were in fear of the Lord and of Samuel.

¹⁹And all the people said to Samuel, Make prayer for us to the Lord your God so that death may not overtake us: for in addition to all our sins we have done this evil, in desiring a king.

²⁰Then Samuel said to the people, Have no fear: truly you have done evil, but do not be turned away from the Lord; be his servants with all your heart;

²¹And do not go from the right way turning to those false gods in which there is no profit and no salvation, for they are false.

²²For the Lord will not give his people up, because of the honour of his name; for it was the Lord's pleasure to make of you a people for himself.

²³And as for me, never will I go against the orders of the Lord by giving up my prayers for you: but I will go on teaching you the good and right way.

²⁴Only go in the fear of the Lord, and be his true servants with all your heart, keeping in mind what great things he has done for you.

²⁵But if you still do evil, destruction will overtake you and your king.

I Samuel 12

¹Samuel said to all Israel, "Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.

²Now, behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and gray-headed; and behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth to this day.

³Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes therewith? I will restore it to you."

⁴They said, "You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything of any man's hand."

⁵He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." They said, "He is witness."

⁶Samuel said to the people, "It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

⁷Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers.

⁸"When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.

⁹"But they forgot the Lord their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.

¹⁰They cried to the Lord, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.'

¹¹The Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.

¹²"When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us;' when the Lord your God was your king.

¹³Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have asked for: and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

¹⁴If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the Lord your God.

¹⁵But if you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then will the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

¹⁶"Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.

¹⁷Isn't it wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for a king."

¹⁸So Samuel called to the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹All the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask us a king."

²⁰Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

²¹Do not turn aside to go after vain things which can't profit nor deliver, for they are vain.

²²For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people to himself.

²³Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.

²⁴Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he has done for you.

²⁵But if you shall still do wickedly, you shall be consumed, both you and your king."