1 Samuel 12

Samuel Addresses Israel

1Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, 1I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I 2have 3appointed a king over you. 2Now, 4here is the king walking before you, but 5I am old and gray, and behold 6my sons are with you. And 7I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. 3Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and 8His anointed. 9Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or 10from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” 4They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that 11you have found nothing 12in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who 1314appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7So now, take your stand, 15that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers. 816When Jacob went into Egypt and 17your fathers cried out to the Lord, then 18the Lord sent Moses and Aaron 1920who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9But 21they forgot the Lord their God, so 22He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and 23into the hand of the Philistines and 24into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 1025They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served 26the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but 27now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11Then the Lord sent 28Jerubbaal and 2930Bedan and 31Jephthah and 32Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

12When you saw 33that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘34No, but a king shall reign over us,’ 35although the Lord your God was your king. 13Now therefore, 36here is the king whom you have chosen, 37whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 1438If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the 39command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 1540If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the 41command of the Lord, then 42the hand of the Lord will be against you, 43as it was against your fathers. 16Even now, 44take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. 1745Is it not the wheat harvest today? 46I will call to the Lord, that He may send 47thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that 48your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.” 18So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent 49thunder and rain that day; and 50all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19Then all the people said to Samuel, “51Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins 52this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” 20Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet 53do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21You must not turn aside, for then you would go after 54futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. 22For 55the Lord will not abandon His people 56on account of His great name, because the Lord 57has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23Moreover, as for me, 58far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but 59I will instruct you in the good and right way. 2460Only 61fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider 62what great things He has done for you. 2563But if you still do wickedly, 64both you and your king 65will be swept away.”