1 Samuel 12

Samuel calls Israel to witness his conduct

¹Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to you and done everything you asked of me. I have set a king over you. ²Now the king will lead you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here among you. I have led you from my youth until this day. ³Here I am. Bring your charges against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox did I take? Whose donkey? Whom did I cheat? Whom did I treat harshly? From whom did I take a bribe to make me look the other way? If I have, I will pay it back to you.”^{a 4}They answered, “You have not cheated us or treated us harshly, and you have not taken anything from anyone.” ⁵Samuel said to them, “Today the LORD is witness against you, and so is his anointed: you have found nothing in my hand.” “He is witness,” they said.

Samuel recalls what the LORD has done

⁶Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.^{b 7}So now take your stand, and I will put the case to you before the LORD, recounting all the righteous acts that the LORD has done for you and for your ancestors. ⁸After Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the LORD, and the LORD sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. ⁹But they forgot the LORD their God, so he sold them into the power of Sisera, who was commander of the army of Hazor, and into the power of the Philistines and the king of Moab, and these fought against them. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the LORD, saying, ‘We have sinned. We have abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now rescue us from the power of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ ¹¹Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah and Samuel, and he rescued you from the power of the enemies around you, and you lived in safety.^{cd 12}But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king must reign over us,’ though the LORD your God was your king. ¹³Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for. See, the LORD has set a king over you. ¹⁴If you fear the LORD, serve him, obey his voice and do not rebel against the LORD’s command, then both you and the king who reigns over you will be followers of the LORD your God.^{e 15}But if you do not obey the voice of the LORD and you rebel against the LORD’s command, then the LORD’s hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.^{f 16}Now then, take your stand and watch this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes. ¹⁷Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the LORD, and he will send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see how great is the evil you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king for yourselves.”

Thunder and rain at harvest time

¹⁸So Samuel called on the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. All the people were filled with fear of the LORD and of Samuel. ¹⁹All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, or we will die! To all our other sins we have added this evil: we asked for a king for ourselves.”

²⁰Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have done all this evil, yes; but do not turn away from following the LORD. Serve the LORD with all your heart. ²¹Do not turn aside to follow worthless things that cannot help you or rescue you, because they are worthless. ²²For his great name’s sake the LORD will not forsake his people, because the LORD has been pleased to make you his own people. ²³As for me, far be it from me to sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. I will go on teaching you the way that is good and right. ²⁴Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Think of the great things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you go on doing evil, you and your king alike will be swept away.”