1 Samuel 12

1 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth unto this day.3 Here I am: witness against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man’s hand.5 And he said unto them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is witness.

6 And Samuel said unto the people, It is Jehovah that appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.7 Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before Jehovah concerning all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which he did to you and to your fathers.8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.9 But they forgat Jehovah their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.10 And they cried unto Jehovah, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and have served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.11 And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and ye dwelt in safety.12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us; when Jehovah your God was your king.13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have asked for: and, behold, Jehovah hath set a king over you.14 If ye will fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken unto his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, and both ye and also the king that reigneth over you be followers of Jehovah your God, well:15 but if ye will not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah, but rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as it was against your fathers.16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which Jehovah will do before your eyes.17 Is it not wheat harvest to-day? I will call unto Jehovah, that he may send thunder and rain; and ye shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah, in asking you a king.18 So Samuel called unto Jehovah; and Jehovah sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel.

19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not; ye have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, but serve Jehovah with all your heart:21 and turn ye not aside; for then would ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.22 For Jehovah will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it hath pleased Jehovah to make you a people unto himself.23 Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.24 Only fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you.25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

1 SAMUEL 12

Samuel's Farewell Speech

1 Samuel told the Israelites:
I have given you a king, just as you asked.

2 You have seen how I have led you ever since I was a young man. I'm already old. My hair is gray, and my own sons are grown. Now you must see how well your king will lead you.

3  t Let me ask this. Have I ever taken anyone's ox or donkey or forced you to give me anything? Have I ever hurt anyone or taken a bribe to give an unfair decision? Answer me so the [Lord] and his chosen king can hear you. And if I have done any of these things, I will give it all back.

4 “No,” the Israelites answered. “You've never cheated us in any way!”

5 Samuel said, “The [Lord] and his chosen king are witnesses to what you have said.”
“That's true,” they replied.

6  t Then Samuel told them:
The [Lord] brought your ancestors out of Egypt and chose Moses and Aaron to be your leaders.

7 Now the [Lord] will be your judge. So stand here and listen, while I remind you how often the [Lord] has saved you and your ancestors from your enemies.
8  t After Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the [Lord] for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your ancestors out of Egypt and led them here to settle this land.

9 t But your ancestors forgot the [Lord], so he let them be defeated by the Philistines, the king of Moab, and Sisera, the commander of Hazor's army.

10  t t Again your ancestors cried out to the [Lord] for help. They said, “We have sinned! We stopped worshiping you, our [Lord], and started worshiping Baal and Astarte. But now, if you rescue us from our enemies, we will worship you.”
11  t The [Lord] sent Gideon, t Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to rescue you from your enemies, and you didn't have to worry about being attacked.

12 t Then you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was going to attack you. And even though the [Lord] your God is your king, you told me, “This time it's different. We want a king to rule us!”
13 You asked for a king, and you chose one. Now he stands here where all of you can see him. But it was really the [Lord] who made him your king. 14 If you and your king want to be followers of the [Lord], you must worship himt and do what he says. Don't be stubborn!

15 If you're stubborn and refuse to obey the [Lord], he will turn against you and your king.t
16 Just stand here and watch the [Lord] show his mighty power.

17 Isn't this the dry season?t I'm going to ask the [Lord] to send a thunderstorm. When you see it, you will realize how wrong you were to ask for a king.
18 Samuel prayed, and that same day the [Lord] sent a thunderstorm. Everyone was afraid of the [Lord] and of Samuel.

19 They told Samuel, “Please, pray to the [Lord] your God for us! We don't want to die. We have sinned many times in the past, and we were very wrong to ask for a king.”

20 Samuel answered:
Even though what you did was wrong, you don't need to be afraid. But you must always follow the [Lord] and worship him with all your heart. 21 Don't worship idols! They don't have any power, and they can't help you or save you when you're in trouble.

22 But the [Lord] has chosen you to be his own people. He will always take care of you so that everyone will know how great he is.
23 I would be disobeying the [Lord] if I stopped praying for you! I will always teach you how to live right. 24 You also must obey the [Lord]—you must worship him with all your heart and remember the great things he has done for you. 25 But if you and your king do evil, the [Lord] will wipe you out.