CHAPTER 12
Then Samuel
said
to
all
Israel,
“I have listened
to your voice
in all
that you have said
to me,
and I have set
over you
a king.
Now
here is
the king
walking
before you,
and I
am old
and gray,
and my sons
are here
with you.
I
have walked
before you
from my youth
until
this
day.
Here I am.
Bear witness
against me
before
the LORD
and before
His anointed:
Whose
ox
or donkey
have I taken?
Whom
have I wronged
or oppressed?
From whose
hand
have I accepted
a bribe
and closed
my eyes?
Tell me,
and I will restore it
to you.
“You have not
wronged us
or
oppressed us,”
they replied,
“nor
have you taken
anything
from the hand
of man.”
Samuel said
to them,
“The LORD
is a witness
against you,
and His anointed
is a witness
today,
that
you have not
found
anything
in my hand.”
“He is a witness,”
they said.
Then Samuel
said
to
the people,
“The LORD
is the One who
appointed
Moses
and Aaron,
and who
brought
your fathers
up from the land
of Egypt.
Now
present yourselves,
so I may confront
you
before
the LORD
with all
the righteous acts
He
has done
for you
and
your fathers.
When
Jacob
went
to Egypt,
your fathers
cried out
to
the LORD,
and He
sent
them Moses
and Aaron,
who brought
your fathers
out of Egypt
and settled
them in this
place.
But they forgot
the LORD
their God,
and He sold
them
into the hand
of Sisera,
the commander
of the army
of Hazor,
and into the hands
of the Philistines
and the king
of Moab,
who fought
against them.
Then they cried out
to
the LORD
and said,
‘We have sinned,
for
we have forsaken
the LORD
and served
the Baals
and
Ashtoreths.
Now
deliver us
from the hands
of our enemies,
and we will serve You.’
So the LORD
sent
Jerubbaal,
Barak,
Jephthah,
and Samuel,
and delivered
you
from the hands
of your enemies
on every side,
and you lived
securely.
But when you saw
that
Nahash
king
of the Ammonites
was moving
against you,
you said to me,
‘No,
we must have a king
to rule
over us’—
even though the LORD
your God
is your king.
Now
here
is the king
you have chosen,
the one
you requested.
Behold,
the king whom
the LORD
has placed
over you.
If
you fear
the LORD
and serve
Him
and obey
His voice,
and if you do not
rebel
against
the command
of the LORD,
and if both
you
and
the king
who
rules
over you
follow
the LORD
your God, then all will be well.
But if
you disobey
the LORD
and rebel
against His
command,
then the hand
of the LORD
will be
against you
as it was against your fathers.
Is it not
the wheat
harvest
today?
I will call
on
the LORD
to send
thunder
and rain,
so that you will know
and see
what a great
evil
you have committed
in the sight
of the LORD
by asking
for
a king.”
So Samuel
called
to
the LORD,
and on that
day
the LORD
sent
thunder
and rain.
As a result, all
the people
greatly
feared
the LORD
and
Samuel.
They
pleaded
with
Samuel,
“Pray
to
the LORD
your God
for
your servants,
so we will not
die!
For
we have added
to
all
our sins
the evil
of asking
for
a king."
“Do not
be afraid,”
Samuel
replied.
“Even though you
have committed
all
this
evil,
do not
turn aside
from following
the LORD,
but serve
the LORD
with all
your heart.
Do not
turn aside
after
worthless
things that
cannot
profit you
or deliver you,
for
they are
empty.
Indeed,
for the sake
of His great
name
the LORD
will not
abandon
His people,
because He
was pleased
to make
you
His
own.
As for
me,
far be it from me
that I
should sin
against the LORD
by ceasing
to pray
for you.
And I will continue to teach
you
the good
and right
way.
Above all,
fear
the LORD
and serve
Him
faithfully
with all
your heart;
consider
what
great things He has done
for you.