1Sa 12 | ESV | STEP | And Samuel said to all Israel , Behold , I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you.

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have obeyed ^ayour voice in all that you have said to me ^band have made a king over you. 2 And now, behold, the king ^cwalks before you, ^dand I am old and gray; and behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before ^ehis anointed. ^fWhose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Testify against me} and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 And he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and ^hhis anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything ⁱin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 And Samuel said to the people, ^j“The Lord is witness, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks is witness} who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. 7 Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous deeds of the Lord that he performed for you and for your fathers. 8 ^lWhen Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks and the Egyptians oppressed them} ⁿthen your fathers cried out to the Lord and ^othe Lord sent Moses and Aaron, ^pwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. 9 But ^qthey forgot the Lord their God. ^rAnd he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, ^{▼▼Septuagint the army of Jabin king of Hazor} ^tand into the hand of the Philistines, ^uand into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them. 10 ^vAnd they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord ^wand have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now ^xdeliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you.’ 11 And the Lord sent ^yJerubbaal ^zand Barak ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Bedan} ^aband Jephthah and ^acSamuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety. 12 And when you saw that ^adNahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, ^aeyou said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^afwhen the Lord your God was your king. 13 And now ^agbehold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, ^ahthe Lord has set a king over you. 14 If you will ^aifear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. 15 But ^ajif you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then ^akthe hand of the Lord will be against you and ^alyour king. ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew fathers} 16 Now therefore ^anstand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 ^aoIs it not wheat harvest today? ^apI will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that ^aqyour wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, ^arand all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, ^as“Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.” 20 And Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet ^atdo not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 And ^audo not turn aside after ^avempty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 ^awFor the Lord will not forsake his people, ^axfor his great name’s sake, because ^ayit has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing ^azto pray for you, ^baand I will instruct you in the good and the right way. 24 ^bbOnly fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider ^bcwhat great things he has done for you. 25 But if you still do wickedly, ^bdyou shall be swept away, ^beboth you and your king.”