1 Samuel 12
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1 And Samuel said unto all
Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me,
and have made a king over you.
2 And now, behold, the king walketh before
you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and
I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.
3 Behold, here I am: witness
against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or
whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of
whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I
will restore it you.
4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded
us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand.
5 And he said unto them, The LORD is
witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have
not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
6 And Samuel said unto the
people, It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought
your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still, that I may
reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he
did to you and to your fathers.
8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your
fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which brought
forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.
9 And when they forgat the LORD their God,
he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the
hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought
against them.
10 And they cried unto the LORD, and said,
We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and
Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve
thee.
11 And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan,
and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on
every side, and ye dwelled safe.
12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of
the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall
reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king.
13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye
have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a
king over you.
14 If ye will fear the LORD, and serve
him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then
shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the
LORD your God:
15 But if ye will not obey the voice of
the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of
the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 Now therefore stand and
see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.
17 Is it not wheat harvest to day?
I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may
perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the
sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.
18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the
LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD
and Samuel.
19 And all the people said unto Samuel,
Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added
unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.
20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear
not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the
LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;
21 And turn ye not aside: for then
should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for
they are vain.
22 For the LORD will not forsake his
people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you
his people.
23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I
should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the
good and the right way:
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in
truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for
you.
25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye
shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
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