1Sa 12 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then Samuel said to all Israel , “ Behold , I have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I have appointed a king over you.

1 Samuel 12

Samuel Addresses Israel

1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^bhave appointed a king over you. 2 Now, ^chere is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^dI am old and gray, and ^emy sons are here with you. And ^fI have walked before you since my youth to this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and ^gHis anointed. ^hWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed, or ⁱfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” 4 And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” 5 So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^jyou have found nothing ^kin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who ^{▼▼Lit made
,} ^mappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, take your stand, ⁿso that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord that He did for you and your fathers. 8 ^oWhen Jacob went into Egypt and ^pyour fathers cried out to the Lord, then ^qthe Lord sent Moses and Aaron ^{▼▼Lit and they brought
,} ^swho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But ^tthey forgot the Lord their God, so ^uHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^vinto the hand of the Philistines, and ^winto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 ^xThey cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the Lord and have served ^ythe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^znow save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then the Lord sent ^aaJerubbaal, ^{▼▼LXX and Syriac Barak
,} ^acBedan, ^adJephthah, and ^aeSamuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

The King Confirmed

12 But when you saw ^afthat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘ ^agNo, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^ahYet the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now, ^aibehold, the king whom you have chosen, ^ajwhom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has ^{▼▼Lit given}put a king over you. 14 ^alIf you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 But ^anif you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}command of the Lord, then ^apthe hand of the Lord will be against you, ^aqeven as it was against your fathers. 16 Even now, ^artake your stand and see this great thing which the Lord is going to do before your eyes. 17 ^asIs it not the wheat harvest today? ^atI will call to the Lord, that He will send ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^avyour wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord, by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent ^{▼▼Lit sounds}thunder and rain that day; and ^axall the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “ ^ayPray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^azthis evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^bado not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^bbuseless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. 22 For ^bcthe Lord will not abandon His people ^bdon account of His great name, because the Lord ^behas been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 Furthermore, as for me, ^bffar be it from me that I would sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but ^bgI will instruct you in the good and right way. 24 ^bhOnly ^{▼▼Or revere}fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^bjwhat great things He has done for you. 25 ^bkBut if you still do evil, ^blboth you and your king ^bmwill be swept away.”