1 Samuel 12:12-25

12:12 “When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king will rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God is your king! 12:13 Now look! Here is the king you have chosen – the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king! 12:14 If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him ¹  and not rebelling against what he says, ²  and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. ³  12:15 But if you don’t obey ⁴  the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. ⁵ 

12:16 “So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight. 12:17 Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves.”

12:18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. 12:19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us – your servants – so we won’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king.” ⁶ 

12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. ⁷  However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. ⁸  12:22 The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. ⁹  The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. 12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. 12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! 12:25 But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

[12:14]  ¹ tn Heb “and you listen to his voice.”

[12:14]  ² tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.” So also in v. 15.

[12:14]  ³ tn The words “all will be well” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[12:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “listen to the voice of.”

[12:15]  ⁵ tc The LXX reads “your king” rather than the MT’s “your fathers.” The latter makes little sense here. Some follow MT, but translate “as it was against your fathers.” See P. K. McCarter, 1 Samuel (AB), 212.

[12:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “for we have added to all our sins an evil [thing] by asking for ourselves a king.”

[12:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”

[12:21]  ⁸ tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”

[12:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “on account of his great name.”