1 Samuel 12

1 Then Samuel said this to all the Israeli people: “I have done everything that you told me to do, and I have given/appointed a king to rule you.

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.

2 My own sons [are grown up and] with you now, but I have appointed Saul [instead of one of them], and he is now your leader. I am now old, and my hair is gray. I have been your leader ever since I was a boy.

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.

3 Now tell me, while Yahweh is listening, and while the king whom he has chosen is listening: whose ox or donkey have I stolen [during all those years]? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed/treated badly? From whom have I accepted a bribe, in order that I would ignore [the evil things he had done]? If I have done any of those things, tell me, and I will pay back what I owe.”

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.

4 They replied, “[No, ] you have never cheated anyone or oppressed anyone or accepted a bribe from anyone.”

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

5 Then Samuel said, “Today Yahweh can testify, and the king whom you chose can testify, that I have not taken a bribe from anyone.” They replied, “Yes, Yahweh can say that he knows that is true.”

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.

6 Samuel continued by saying, “Yahweh is the one who appointed Moses and Aaron [to lead] our ancestors. He is the one who brought them out of Egypt. [And he is the one who will testify that what I am saying is true].

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.

7 Now while Yahweh is listening, stand here quietly while I accuse you [and tell you that your requesting a king instead of trusting Yahweh to lead you was wrong]. I will do that by reminding you of all the great miracles that Yahweh performed for you and your ancestors.

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.

8 [“Many years] after Jacob went to Egypt, our ancestors pleaded to Yahweh to help them. So Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron to them, and they led our ancestors out of Egypt, and eventually they settled in this land.

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.

9 “But our ancestors soon forgot about Yahweh, their God. So he allowed Sisera, the commander of the army from Hazor, to defeat them. He also allowed the Philistines and the army of the king of Moab to fight our ancestors and defeat them.

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.

10 Then our ancestors pleaded with Yahweh again to help them. They admitted, ‘Yahweh, we have sinned, and we have forsaken you. We have worshiped [idols that represent the god] Baal and [the goddess] Astarte. But if you rescue us from our enemies, we will worship you only.’

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.

11 So Yahweh sent men such as Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and me to save you. And as a result, you did not have to worry about any enemies attacking you.

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.

12 “But now, when king Nahash of Ammon came [with his army] to attack you, [you were afraid. So], you [came to me, and] said, ‘We want a king to rule us,’ even though Yahweh was already your king!

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.

13 So now, look, here is the king whom you have chosen. You asked for a king, and Yahweh has now appointed a king for you.

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

14 If you will revere Yahweh and if you serve him, and if you listen to what he says and obey what he commands, and if you and the king who rules over you do what Yahweh your God wants you to do, [(things will go well for you all/Yahweh will bless you)].

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:

15 But if you do not listen to what Yahweh says, if you disobey what he commands, then he will punish [MTY] you all, just as he punished our ancestors.

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.

16 “Now stand here quietly and see the great thing that Yahweh is about to do.

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

17 You know that [RHQ] [it does not rain at this time of the year], during the time when you harvest wheat. But I will ask Yahweh to send thunder [and lightning] and rain today. When he does that, you will realize that Yahweh considers that you have done a very wicked thing by requesting a king.”

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.

18 Then Samuel prayed to Yahweh, and Yahweh caused it to thunder [and lightning] and rain. So all the people became very afraid of Yahweh and of Samuel.

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.

19 They cried out to Samuel, “Pray for us! We have added to our previous sins by requesting a king! Pray to Yahweh, your God, in order that we will not die [because of having done that]!”

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.

20 Samuel replied, “Do not be afraid! You have done this evil thing, but do not turn away from doing the things that Yahweh wants you to do. Instead, serve Yahweh wholeheartedly.

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;

21 Do not abandon [Yahweh] and worship useless idols. They cannot help you or save you [from your enemies], because they are truly useless.

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.

22 Yahweh decided to make us his people. So he will not abandon us people whom he has chosen, because he would injure his own reputation [of being completely faithful] if he did that.

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.

23 But as for me, I have solemnly promised that I will not sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you what things are good and right [for you to do].

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.

24 But you must revere Yahweh and serve him wholeheartedly. Never forget all the great things that he has done for you.

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.

25 But if you keep doing wicked things, he will get rid of you and your king!”

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