1 Samuel 12

1 And Samuel said to all the men of Israel, “Look — I have listened to your voice in everything you said to me, and I have set a king over you. 2 And now, look, the king walks before you; and I have grown old and will sit down, and my sons — they are here among you. And I have walked up and down before you from my youth until this day.

3 Here I am. Answer against me before the Lord and before his anointed one: whose calf have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or which of you have I oppressed? Or whom have I squeezed? Or out of whose hand have I taken a ransom price, or a sandal? Answer against me, and I will give it back to you.” [a] 4 And they said to Samuel, “You have not wronged us, and you have not oppressed us, and you have not crushed us, and you have not taken anything out of anyone’s hand.” 5 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is witness among you, and his anointed one is witness today, on this day, that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, “The Lord is witness — he who made Moses and Aaron, who brought our fathers up out of Egypt. [b] 7 And now stand still, and I will judge you before the Lord, and I will tell you all the righteousness of the Lord, the things he did among you and among your fathers. 8 When Jacob and his sons went into Egypt, and Egypt humbled them, our fathers cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron; and they brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he settled them in this place.

9 And they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hands of Sisera, the commander of the army of Jabin king of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab; and they made war on them. [c] 10 And they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the sacred groves. And now rescue us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’ [d] 11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel, and he rescued you out of the hand of your enemies all around, and you lived in safety. [e]

12 And you saw that Nahash king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said, ‘No — a king is going to reign over us’ — and the Lord our God is our king! 13 And now, here is the king you chose; and see, the Lord has given you a king. 14 If you fear the Lord and serve him and listen to his voice, and do not fight against the mouth of the Lord, and if you and the king who reigns over you go on following the Lord — [f] 15 But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord, and you fight against the mouth of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and against your king.

16 And now stand still and see this great thing that the Lord is going to do before your eyes. 17 Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done before the Lord in asking a king for yourselves.” [g] 18 And Samuel called on the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people were greatly afraid of the Lord and of Samuel. 19 And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your slaves to the Lord your God, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins this wickedness, in asking a king for ourselves.”

20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have done all this wickedness; only do not turn aside from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with your whole heart. 21 And do not go aside after the things that are nothing, which can do nothing and cannot rescue, because they are nothing. 22 For the Lord will not push his people away, for the sake of his great name, because the Lord in his kindness took you to himself as a people. [h]

23 And far be it from me to sin against the Lord by giving up praying for you; and I will serve the Lord, and I will show you the good and straight way. 24 Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth and with your whole heart, for you have seen the great things he has done with you. 25 But if you go on doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.” [i]