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;
• 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.
• 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

18Then Samuel called on the Lord, and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel. 19The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” “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. 21Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. 22For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.

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 20:19and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
• 1 Peter 3:16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
• Deuteronomy 11:16Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.
• Deuteronomy 31:29For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall on you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and arouse his anger by what your hands have made.”
• Joshua 23:6“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.
• Psalms 40:4Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
• Psalms 101:3I will not look with approval on anything that is vile. I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it.
• Psalms 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the Lord will banish with the evildoers. Peace be on Israel.
• Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers— would you now 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

• 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