Chapter 12

Samuel Addresses Israel

1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, aI have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I bhave 1appointed a king over you.

2 “Now, ahere is the king walking before you, but bI am old and gray, and behold cmy sons are with you. And dI have walked before you from my youth even to this day.

3 “Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and aHis anointed. bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or cfrom 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 ayou have found nothing bin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who 1aappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt.

7 “So now, take your stand, athat 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 “aWhen Jacob went into Egypt and byour fathers cried out to the Lord, then cthe Lord sent Moses and Aaron 1dwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.

9 “But athey forgot the Lord their God, so bHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and cinto the hand of the Philistines and dinto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

10 “aThey cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served bthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but cnow deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’

11 “Then the Lord sent aJerubbaal and 1bBedan and cJephthah and dSamuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

12 “When you saw athat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘bNo, but a king shall reign over us,’ calthough the Lord your God was your king.

13 “Now therefore, ahere is the king whom you have chosen, bwhom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

14 “aIf you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the 1command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God.

15 “aIf you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the 1command of the Lord, then bthe hand of the Lord will be against you, cas it was against your fathers.

16 “Even now, atake your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

17 “aIs it not the wheat harvest today? bI will call to the Lord, that He may send 1thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that cyour wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.”

18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent 1thunder and rain that day; and aall the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “aPray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins bthis evil by asking for ourselves a king.”

20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ado not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

21 “You must not turn aside, for then you would go after afutile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile.

22 “For athe Lord will not abandon His people bon account of His great name, because the Lord chas been pleased to make you a people for Himself.

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

24 “aOnly 1fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider bwhat great things He has done for you.

25 “aBut if you still do wickedly, bboth you and your king cwill be swept away.”