1 Samuel 8; 1 Samuel 12

1 Samuel 8

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba.

3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah

5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations. ”

6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us. ” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them. ”

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him.

11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.

15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.

16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.

18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day. ”

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,

20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. ”

21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.

22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king. ” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city. ”

1 Samuel 12

1 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.

2 And now, behold, the king walks before you, and 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 his anointed. Whose 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 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 his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. ” And they said, “He is witness. ”

6 And Samuel said to the people, “The Lord 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 When Jacob went into Egypt, and the Egyptians oppressed them, then your fathers cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place.

9 But they forgot the Lord their God. And he sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army 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 out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. But now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, that we may serve you. ’

11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.

12 And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us, ’ when the Lord your God was your king.

13 And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

14 If you will fear 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 if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.

16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.

17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your 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, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

19 And all the people said to Samuel, “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 do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

21 And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.

22 For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name’s sake, because it 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 to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.

24 Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

25 But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king. ”