1 Samuel 12

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

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.

2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.

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.

3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or from whose hand have I received any bribe to blind my eyes with it? and I will restore it you.

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.”

4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken any thing from any man’s hand.

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

5 And he said to them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found any thing in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

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.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt.

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].

7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.

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.

8 When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers from Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.

[“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.

9 And when they forgot the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

“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.

10 And they cried to the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.

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.’

11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelt safe.

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.

12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.

“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!

13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.

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.

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

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)].

15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.

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.

16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.

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

17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call to the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

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.”

18 So Samuel called to the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

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.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.

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]!”

20 And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

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.

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

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

22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.

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.

23 Moreover as for me, Far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:

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].

24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider what great things he hath done for you.

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

25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

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