1 Samuel 12

1 And Samuel saith unto all Israel, 'Lo, I have hearkened to your voice, to all that ye said to me, and I cause to reign over you a king,

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, lo, the king is walking habitually before you, and I have become aged and gray-headed, and my sons, lo, they [are] with you, and I have walked habitually before you from my youth till 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 'Lo, here [am] I; testify against me, over-against Jehovah, and over-against His anointed; whose ox have I taken, and whose ass have I taken, and whom have I oppressed; whom have I bruised, and of whose hand have I taken a ransom, and hide mine eyes with it? — and I restore to 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 say, 'Thou hast not oppressed us, nor hast thou crushed us, nor hast thou taken from the hand of any one anything.'

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

5 And he saith unto them, 'A witness [is] Jehovah against you: and a witness [is] His anointed this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand;' and they say, 'A 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 saith unto the people, 'Jehovah — He who made Moses and Aaron, and who brought up 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 and, now, station yourselves, and I judge you before Jehovah, with all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which He did with you, and with 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 hath come in to Egypt, and your fathers cry unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sendeth Moses and Aaron, and they bring out your fathers from Egypt, and cause them to 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 they forget Jehovah their God, and He selleth 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,

“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 cry unto Jehovah, and say, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and now, deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we 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 Jehovah sendeth Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivereth you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and ye dwell confidently.

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 ye see that Nahash king of the Bene-Ammon hath come against you, and ye say to me, Nay, but a king doth reign over us; and Jehovah your God [is] 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 And, now, lo, the king whom ye have chosen — whom ye have asked! and lo, Jehovah hath placed over you a king.

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 fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been — both ye and the king who hath reigned over you — after Jehovah 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 'And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah — then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and 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 'Also now, station yourselves and see this great thing which Jehovah is doing 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 call unto Jehovah, and He doth give voices and rain; and know ye and see that your evil is great which ye have done in the eyes of Jehovah, to ask for 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 And Samuel calleth unto Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth voices and rain, on that day, and all the people greatly fear Jehovah 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 say unto Samuel, 'Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, and we do not die, for we have added to all our sins evil to ask for 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 saith unto the people, 'Fear not; ye have done all this evil; only, turn not aside from after Jehovah — and ye have served Jehovah 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 ye do not turn aside after the vain things which do not 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 Jehovah doth not leave His people, on account of His great name; for Jehovah hath been pleased to make you to Him for a 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 'I, also, far be it from me to sin against Jehovah, by ceasing to pray for you, and I have directed you in the good and upright 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 ye Jehovah, and ye have served Him in truth with all your heart, for see that which He hath made great with you;

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

25 and if ye really do evil, both ye and your king are consumed.'

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