1 Samuel 12:20

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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)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.
• 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.

Context of 1 Samuel 12:20

18Then Samuel called on the Lord. That day the Lord sent thunder and rain so that all the people feared the Lord and Samuel very much. 19All the people pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us so that we will not die. We have added ⌞another⌟ evil thing to all our other sins by asking for a king.” “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel told the people. “You did do all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Instead, serve the Lord wholeheartedly. 21Don’t turn away to follow other gods. They can’t help or rescue you, because they don’t exist. 22For the sake of his great name, the Lord will not abandon his people, because the Lord wants to make you his people.

1 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 20:19Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let God speak to us, or we’ll die!”
• 1 Peter 3:16Keep your conscience clear. Then those who treat the good Christian life you live with contempt will feel ashamed that they have ridiculed you.
• Deuteronomy 11:16Be careful, or you’ll be tempted to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.
• Deuteronomy 31:29I know that after I die you will become thoroughly corrupt and turn from the way I have commanded you to live. In the days to come disasters will happen to you because you will make the Lord furious by doing what he considers evil.”
• Joshua 23:6Now you must be very strong to keep and to do everything written in the Book of Moses’ Teachings. Don’t turn away from them.
• Psalms 40:4Blessed is the person who places his confidence in the Lord and does not rely on arrogant people or those who follow lies.
• Psalms 101:3I will not put anything wicked in front of my eyes. I hate what unfaithful people do. I want no part of it.
• Psalms 125:5But when people become crooked, the Lord will lead them away with troublemakers. Let there be peace in Israel!
• Jeremiah 3:1A saying: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again. The land would become thoroughly polluted. “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers. And now you want to come back 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

• Decision
• Repentance

In the dictionaries

• Samuel
• Reason
• Samuel, Books of
• Judges, Period of
• Samuel, Books of

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