1 Samuel 12 - NKJV Bible Online

1 Samuel 12

Samuel’s Address at Saul’s Coronation

Now Samuel said to all Israel: “Indeed I have ¹heeded ^ayour voice in all that you said to me, and ^bhave made a king over you. 2 And now here is the king, ^awalking before you; ^band I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 Here I am. Witness against me before the Lord and before ^aHis anointed: ^bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any ^cbribe with which to ^dblind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4 And they said, ^a“You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand.”
5 Then he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day, ^athat you have not found anything ^bin my hand.”
And they answered, “He is witness.”
6 Then Samuel said to the people, ^a“It is the Lord who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore, stand still, that I may ^areason with you before the Lord concerning all the ^brighteous acts of the Lord which He did to you and your fathers: 8 ^aWhen Jacob had gone into ¹Egypt, and your fathers ^bcried out to the Lord, then the Lord ^csent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 And when they ^aforgot the Lord their God, He sold them into the hand of ^bSisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the ^cPhilistines, and into the hand of the king of ^dMoab; and they fought against them. 10 Then they cried out to the Lord, and said, ^a‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^band served the Baals and ¹Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 And the Lord sent ¹Jerubbaal, ²Bedan, ^aJephthah, and ^bSamuel,³ and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you dwelt in safety. 12 And when you saw that ^aNahash king of the Ammonites came against you, ^byou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when ^cthe Lord your God was your king.
13 “Now therefore, ^ahere is the king ^bwhom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, ^cthe Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you ^afear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God. 15 However, if you do ^anot obey the voice of the Lord, but ^brebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 “Now therefore, ^astand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes: 17 Is today not the ^awheat harvest? ^bI will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and ^crain, that you may perceive and see that ^dyour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.”
18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and ^aall the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19 And all the people said to Samuel, ^a“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves.”
20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; ^ayet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And ^ado not turn aside; ^bfor then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. 22 For ^athe Lord will not forsake ^bHis people, ^cfor His great name’s sake, because ^dit has pleased the Lord to make you His people. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord ^ain ceasing to pray for you; but ^bI will teach you the ^cgood and the right way. 24 ^aOnly fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for ^bconsider what ^cgreat things He has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, ^ayou shall be swept away, ^bboth you and your king.”

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