1 Samuel 12

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, You see that I have given ear to everything you said to me, and have made a king over you.

And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and I have set a king over you.

2 And now, see, the king is before you: and I am old and grey-headed, and my sons are with you: I have been living before your eyes from my early days till now.

And now, behold, the king is walking before you; and I am old and gray-headed; and my sons, behold, they are with you; and I have walked before you from my youth even until this day.

3 Here I am: give witness against me before the Lord and before the man on whom he has put the holy oil: whose ox or ass have I taken? to whom have I been untrue? who has been crushed down by me? from whose hand have I taken a price for the blinding of my eyes? I will give it all back to you.

Behold, here am I; testify against me in the presence of the Lord, and in the presence of his anointed: Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I received any ransom so that I withdrew my eyes from him? and I will restore it you.

4 And they said, You have never been untrue to us or cruel to us; you have taken nothing from any man.

And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor hast thou oppressed us, and thou hast not taken from any man's hand the least.

5 Then he said, The Lord is witness against you, and the man on whom he has put the holy oil is witness this day that you have seen no wrong in me. And they said, He is witness.

And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found in my hand the least: and they answered, He is witness.

6 And Samuel said to the people, The Lord is witness, who gave authority to Moses and Aaron, and who took your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord who did [wonders through] Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.

7 Keep your places now, while I take up the argument with you before the Lord, and give you the story of the righteousness of the Lord, which he has made clear by his acts to you and to your fathers.

And now stand up, that I may hold judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the benefits of the Lord, which he hath done to you and to your fathers.

8 When Jacob and his sons had come into Egypt, and were crushed by the Egyptians, the prayers of your fathers came up to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your fathers out of Egypt, and he put them into this place.

When Jacob was come into Egypt, then did your fathers cry unto the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and caused them to dwell in this place.

9 But they were false to the Lord their God, and he gave them up into the hands of Sisera, captain of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab, who made war against them.

And when they forgot the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sissera, the chief of the host of Chazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they made war against them.

10 Then crying out to the Lord, they said, We have done evil, because we have been turned away from the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes: but now, make us safe from those who are against us and we will be your servants.

And they cried [then] unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Be'alim and the 'Ashtaroth; and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and took you out of the power of those who were fighting against you on every side, and made you safe.

And the Lord sent Yerubba'al, and Bedan, and Yiphthach, and Samuel, and he delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, so that ye dwelt safely.

12 And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was coming against you, you said to me, No more of this; we will have a king for our ruler: when the Lord your God was your king.

But when ye saw that Nachash the king of the children of 'Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, No; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God is your king.

13 Here, then, is the king marked out by you: the Lord has put a king over you.

And now here is the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have asked for! and, behold, the Lord hath set over you a king.

14 If in the fear of the Lord you are his servants, hearing his voice and not going against the orders of the Lord, but being true to the Lord your God, you and the king ruling over you, then all will be well:

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and will not rebel against the will of the Lord: then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God.

15 But if you do not give ear to the voice of the Lord, but go against his orders, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and against your king for your destruction, as it was against your fathers.

But if ye will not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and rebel against the will of the Lord: then will the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.

16 Now keep where you are and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.

And now stand up and see this great thing, which the Lord is about doing before your eyes.

17 Is it not now the time of the grain cutting? My cry will go up to the Lord and he will send thunder and rain: so that you may see and be conscious of your great sin which you have done in the eyes of the Lord in desiring a king for yourselves.

Is there not wheat-harvest today? I will call unto the Lord, and he will send thunders and rain; and ye will [thus] perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done, in the eyes of the Lord, to ask for yourselves a king.

18 So Samuel made prayer to the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people were in fear of the Lord and of Samuel.

And Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunders and rain on that day: and all the people feared greatly the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, Make prayer for us to the Lord your God so that death may not overtake us: for in addition to all our sins we have done this evil, in desiring a king.

And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray in behalf of thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we may not die; for we have added unto all our sins yet this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.

20 Then Samuel said to the people, Have no fear: truly you have done evil, but do not be turned away from the Lord; be his servants with all your heart;

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not; ye have indeed done all this evil: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, and serve ye the Lord with all your heart;

21 And do not go from the right way turning to those false gods in which there is no profit and no salvation, for they are false.

And turn ye not aside; for then would ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; because they are vain.

22 For the Lord will not give his people up, because of the honour of his name; for it was the Lord's pleasure to make of you a people for himself.

For the Lord will not forsake his people for the sake of his great name; because it hath pleased the Lord to make you a people unto himself.

23 And as for me, never will I go against the orders of the Lord by giving up my prayers for you: but I will go on teaching you the good and right way.

Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray in behalf of you; but I will teach you the good and the right way:

24 Only go in the fear of the Lord, and be his true servants with all your heart, keeping in mind what great things he has done for you.

Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for see what great things he hath done with you.

25 But if you still do evil, destruction will overtake you and your king.

But if ye will in any wise do wickedly, both ye yourselves as also your king shall perish.