1Sa 11:14-12:22 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then Samuel said to the people , “ Come , and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there .”

1 Samuel 11:14-15

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to ^aGilgal and ^brenew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king ^cbefore the Lord in Gilgal. There they also ^doffered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

1 Samuel 12:1-22

Samuel Addresses Israel

1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^eI have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^fhave appointed a king over you. 2 Now, ^ghere is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^hI am old and gray, and ⁱmy sons are here with you. And ^jI have walked before you since my youth to this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and ^kHis anointed. ^lWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or ^mfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” 4 And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” 5 So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ⁿyou have found nothing ^oin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^{▼▼Lit made
,} ^qappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, take your stand, ^rso that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord that He did for you and your fathers. 8 ^sWhen Jacob went into Egypt and ^tyour fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^uthe Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^{▼▼Lit and they brought
,} ^wwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But ^xthey forgot the Lord their God, so ^yHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^zinto the hand of the Philistines, and ^aainto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 ^abThey cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served ^acthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^adnow save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then the Lord sent ^aeJerubbaal, ^{▼▼LXX and Syriac Barak
,} ^agBedan, ^ahJephthah, and ^aiSamuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

12 But when you saw ^ajthat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘ ^akNo, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^alYet the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now, ^ambehold, the king whom you have chosen, ^anwhom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has ^{▼▼Lit given}put a king over you. 14 ^apIf you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 But ^arif you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command of the Lord, then ^atthe hand of the Lord will be against you, ^aueven as it was against your fathers. 16 Even now, ^avtake your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. 17 ^awIs it not the wheat harvest today? ^axI will call to the Lord, that He will send ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^azyour wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and rain that day; and ^bball the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “ ^bcPray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^bdthis evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^bedo not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^bfuseless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. 22 For ^bgthe Lord will not abandon His people ^bhon account of His great name, because the Lord ^bihas been pleased to make you a people for Himself.