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 says to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice, to all that you said to me, and I cause a king to reign 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, behold, the king is habitually walking before you, and I have become aged and gray-headed, and my sons, behold, they [are] with you, and I have habitually walked before you from my youth until this day.

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.”

Behold, here I [am]; testify against me before YHWH, and before His anointed; whose ox have I taken, and whose donkey have I taken, and whom have I oppressed; whom have I bruised, and of whose hand have I taken a ransom, and hide my eyes with it? And I restore [it] to you.”

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

And they say, “You have not oppressed us, nor have you crushed us, nor have you taken anything from the hand of anyone.”

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.”

And he says to them, “YHWH [is] a witness against you, and His anointed [is] a witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand”; and they say, “A 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 says to the people, “YHWH [is] He who made Moses and Aaron, and who brought up your fathers 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.

And now, station yourselves, and I judge you before YHWH, with all the righteous acts of YHWH, which He did with you, and with 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 has come to Egypt, and your fathers cry to YHWH, then YHWH sends Moses and Aaron, and they bring out your fathers from Egypt, and cause them to dwell in 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.

and they forget their God YHWH, and He sells them into the hand of Sisera, head of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fight 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.’

and they cry to YHWH, and say, We have sinned, because we have forsaken YHWH, and serve the Ba‘alim, and Ashtaroth, and now, deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we serve You.

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.

And YHWH sends Jerubba‘al, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivers you out of the hand of your surrounding enemies, and you dwell confidently.

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 you see that Nahash king of the sons of Ammon has come against you, and you say to me, No, but a king reigns over us; and your God YHWH [is] 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.

And now, behold the king whom you have chosen—whom you have asked for! And behold, YHWH has placed 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 you fear YHWH, and have served Him, and listened to His voice, then you do not provoke the mouth of YHWH, and you have been—both you and the king who has reigned over you—after your God YHWH.

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.

And if you do not listen to the voice of YHWH—then you have provoked the mouth of YHWH, and the hand of YHWH has been against you, and against your fathers.

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

Also now, station yourselves and see this great thing which YHWH is doing 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 wheat-harvest today? I call to YHWH, and He gives voices and rain; and know and see that your evil is great which you have done in the eyes of YHWH, to ask [for] 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.

And Samuel calls to YHWH, and YHWH gives voices and rain on that day, and all the people greatly fear YHWH and 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 say to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to your God YHWH, and we do not die, for we have added evil to all our sins to ask [for] a king for ourselves.”

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.

And Samuel says to the people, “Do not fear; you have done all this evil; only, do not turn aside from after YHWH—and you have served YHWH 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 you do not turn aside after the vain things which do not profit nor deliver, for they [are] vain,

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 YHWH does not leave His people, on account of His great Name; for YHWH has been pleased to make you for a people to Him.

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].

I, also, far be it from me to sin against YHWH, by ceasing to pray for you, and I have directed you in the good and upright way;

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

only, fear YHWH, and you have served Him in truth with all your heart, for see that which He has made great with you;

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

and if you really do evil, both you and your king are consumed.”