1Sa 12 | NASB1995 | STEP | Then Samuel said to all Israel , “ Behold , I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I have appointed a king over you.

‏ 1 Samuel 12

Samuel Addresses Israel

1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I ^bhave ^{▼▼ Lit made}appointed a king over you. 2 “Now, ^dhere is the king walking before you, but ^eI am old and gray, and behold ^fmy sons are with you. And ^gI have walked before you from my youth even to this day. 3 “Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and ^hHis anointed. ⁱWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^jfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^kyou have found nothing ^lin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^{▼▼ Lit made
,} ⁿappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 “So now, take your stand, ^othat I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers. 8 ^p“When Jacob went into Egypt and ^qyour fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^rthe Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^{▼▼ Lit and they brought
,} ^twho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 “But ^uthey forgot the Lord their God, so ^vHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and ^winto the hand of the Philistines and ^xinto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 ^y“They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served ^zthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^aanow deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 “Then the Lord sent ^abJerubbaal and ^{▼▼ Gr and Syr read Barak
,} ^adBedan and ^aeJephthah and ^afSamuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

12 “When you saw ^agthat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘ ^ahNo, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^aialthough the Lord your God was your king. 13 “Now therefore, ^ajhere is the king whom you have chosen, ^akwhom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 ^al“If 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 also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 ^an“If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^{▼▼ Lit mouth}command of the Lord, then ^apthe hand of the Lord will be against you, ^aq as it was against your fathers. 16 “Even now, ^artake your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 ^as“Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^atI will call to the Lord, that He may send ^{▼▼ Lit sounds}thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^avyour 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 ^axall the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 Then all the people said to Samuel, ^ay“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins ^az this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^bado not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 “You must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^bbfutile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. 22 “For ^bcthe Lord will not abandon His people ^bdon account of His great name, because the Lord ^behas been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 “Moreover, as for me, ^bffar be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^bgI will instruct you in the good and right way. 24 ^bh“Only ^{▼▼ Or reverence}fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^bjwhat great things He has done for you. 25 ^bk“But if you still do wickedly, ^blboth you and your king ^bmwill be swept away.”