1 Samuel 12:1-15 — Legacy Standard Bible

Samuel Speaks to Israel

12Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I ^bhave ¹appointed a king over you. ²“So now, ^ahere is the king walking before you, but ^bI am old and gray, and behold, ^cmy sons are with you. And ^dI have walked before you from my youth even to this day. ³“Here I am; bear witness against me before Yahweh and ^aHis anointed. ^bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^cfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” ⁴And they said, “You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” ⁵So he said to them, “Yahweh is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^ayou have found nothing ^bin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

⁶Then Samuel said to the people, “It is Yahweh who ¹^,^aappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. ⁷“So now, take your stand, ^athat I may judge you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh which He did for you and your fathers. ⁸“^aWhen Jacob went into Egypt and ^byour fathers cried out to Yahweh, then ^cYahweh sent Moses and Aaron ¹^,^dwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹“But ^athey forgot Yahweh their God, so ^bHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^cinto the hand of the Philistines and ^dinto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. ¹⁰“^aAnd they cried out to Yahweh and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served ^bthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^cnow deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ ¹¹“Then Yahweh sent ^aJerubbaal and ¹^,^bBedan and ^cJephthah and ^dSamuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. ¹²“But you saw ^athat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said to me, ‘^bNo, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^calthough Yahweh your God was your king. ¹³“So now, ^abehold, the king whom you have chosen, ^bwhom you have asked for, and behold, Yahweh has set a king over you. ¹⁴“^aIf you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ¹command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God. ¹⁵“^aBut if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the ¹command of Yahweh, then ^bthe hand of Yahweh will be against you, ^cas it was against your fathers.