English Standard Version
1 Samuel 12:20
20And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
1 Samuel 12:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;
- New International Version (NIV)“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him.
Context of 1 Samuel 12:20
18So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. 19And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king." And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 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 for himself.
Read all of 1 Samuel 121 Samuel 12:20 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֤ל אֶל־הָעָם֙ אַל־תִּירָ֔אוּ אַתֶּ֣ם עֲשִׂיתֶ֔ם אֵ֥ת כָּל־הָרָעָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את אַ֗ךְ אַל־תָּס֙וּרוּ֙ מֵאַחֲרֵ֣י יְהוָ֔ה וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֥ם אֶת־יְהוָ֖ה בְּכָל־לְבַבְכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Samuelשְׁמוּאֵלshemû'êl · SamuelH8050
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- Fearיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
- not: ye have doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- all this wickednessרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: evilH7451
- yet turn not asideסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: turn asideH5493
- from followingאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- but serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
- with all your heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 12:20
- Exodus 20:19and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
- 1 Peter 3:16having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
- Deuteronomy 11:16Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them;
- Deuteronomy 31:29For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands."
- Joshua 23:6Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left,
- Psalms 40:4Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!
- Psalms 101:3I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
- Psalms 125:5But those who turn aside to their crooked ways the Lord will lead away with evildoers! Peace be upon Israel!
- Jeremiah 3:1"If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the Lord.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 12:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Ye have done all this wickedness - That is, although ye have done all this wickedness: what was past God would pass by, provided they would be obedient in future.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-25Verses 16-25 At Samuel's word, God sent thunder and rain, at a season of the year when, in that country, the like was not seen. This was to convince them they had done wickedly in asking a king; not only by its coming at an unusual time, in wheat harvest, and on a clear day, but by the prophet's giving notice of it before. He showed their folly in desiring a king to save them, rather than God, or Samuel; promising themselves more from an arm of flesh…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-25In 1 Samuel 12:1–5, Samuel examined himself and was found innocent. In 1 Samuel 12:6–25, he examined the nation and found it guilty.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2517-25. Is it not wheat harvest to-day?--That season in Palestine occurs at the end of June or beginning of July, when it seldom or never rains, and the sky is serene and cloudless. There could not, therefore, have been a stronger or more appropriate proof of a divine mission than the phenomenon of rain and thunder happening, without any prognostics of its approach, upon the prediction of a person professing himself to be a prophet of the Lord, and giving…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 12:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries