The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 And Samuel said to all Israel, You see that I have given ear to everything you said to me, and have made a king over you.
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Then Samuel said to the people of Israel, "I have done what you asked me to do. I have given you a king to rule you,
2 And now, see, the king is before you: and I am old and grey-headed, and my sons are with you: I have been living before your eyes from my early days till now.
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and now you have him to lead you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are with you. I have been your leader from my youth until now.
3 Here I am: give witness against me before the Lord and before the man on whom he has put the holy oil: whose ox or ass have I taken? to whom have I been untrue? who has been crushed down by me? from whose hand have I taken a price for the blinding of my eyes? I will give it all back to you.
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Here I am. If I have done anything wrong, accuse me now in the presence of the Lord and the king he has chosen. Have I taken anybody's cow or anybody's donkey? Have I cheated or oppressed anyone? Have I accepted a bribe from anyone? If I have done any of these things, I will pay back what I have taken."
4 And they said, You have never been untrue to us or cruel to us; you have taken nothing from any man.
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The people answered, "No, you have not cheated us or oppressed us; you have not taken anything from anyone."
5 Then he said, The Lord is witness against you, and the man on whom he has put the holy oil is witness this day that you have seen no wrong in me. And they said, He is witness.
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Samuel replied, "The Lord and the king he has chosen are witnesses today that you have found me to be completely innocent." "Yes, the Lord is our witness," they answered.
6 And Samuel said to the people, The Lord is witness, who gave authority to Moses and Aaron, and who took your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
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Samuel continued, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors out of Egypt.
7 Keep your places now, while I take up the argument with you before the Lord, and give you the story of the righteousness of the Lord, which he has made clear by his acts to you and to your fathers.
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Now stand where you are, and I will accuse you before the Lord by reminding you of all the mighty actions the Lord did to save you and your ancestors.
8 When Jacob and his sons had come into Egypt, and were crushed by the Egyptians, the prayers of your fathers came up to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, who took your fathers out of Egypt, and he put them into this place.
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When Jacob and his family went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, your ancestors cried to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this land.
9 But they were false to the Lord their God, and he gave them up into the hands of Sisera, captain of the army of Jabin, king of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab, who made war against them.
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But the people forgot the Lord their God, and so he let the Philistines and the king of Moab and Sisera, commander of the army of the city of Hazor, fight against your ancestors and conquer them.
10 Then crying out to the Lord, they said, We have done evil, because we have been turned away from the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes: but now, make us safe from those who are against us and we will be your servants.
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Then they cried to the Lord for help and said, "We have sinned, because we turned away from you, Lord, and worshiped the idols of Baal and Astarte. Rescue us from our enemies, and we will worship you!'
11 So the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak and Jephthah and Samuel and took you out of the power of those who were fighting against you on every side, and made you safe.
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And the Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and finally me. Each of us rescued you from your enemies, and you lived in safety.
12 And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, was coming against you, you said to me, No more of this; we will have a king for our ruler: when the Lord your God was your king.
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But when you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was about to attack you, you rejected the Lord as your king and said to me, "We want a king to rule us.'
13 Here, then, is the king marked out by you: the Lord has put a king over you.
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"Now here is the king you chose; you asked for him, and now the Lord has given him to you.
14 If in the fear of the Lord you are his servants, hearing his voice and not going against the orders of the Lord, but being true to the Lord your God, you and the king ruling over you, then all will be well:
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All will go well with you if you honor the Lord your God, serve him, listen to him, and obey his commands, and if you and your king follow him.
15 But if you do not give ear to the voice of the Lord, but go against his orders, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and against your king for your destruction, as it was against your fathers.
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But if you do not listen to the Lord but disobey his commands, he will be against you and your king.
16 Now keep where you are and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes.
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So then, stand where you are, and you will see the great thing which the Lord is going to do.
17 Is it not now the time of the grain cutting? My cry will go up to the Lord and he will send thunder and rain: so that you may see and be conscious of your great sin which you have done in the eyes of the Lord in desiring a king for yourselves.
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It's the dry season, isn't it? But I will pray, and the Lord will send thunder and rain. When this happens, you will realize that you committed a great sin against the Lord when you asked him for a king."
18 So Samuel made prayer to the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people were in fear of the Lord and of Samuel.
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So Samuel prayed, and on that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. Then all the people became afraid of the Lord and of Samuel,
19 And all the people said to Samuel, Make prayer for us to the Lord your God so that death may not overtake us: for in addition to all our sins we have done this evil, in desiring a king.
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and they said to Samuel, "Please, sir, pray to the Lord your God for us, so that we won't die. We now realize that, besides all our other sins, we have sinned by asking for a king."
20 Then Samuel said to the people, Have no fear: truly you have done evil, but do not be turned away from the Lord; be his servants with all your heart;
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"Don't be afraid," Samuel answered. "Even though you have done such an evil thing, do not turn away from the Lord, but serve him with all your heart.
21 And do not go from the right way turning to those false gods in which there is no profit and no salvation, for they are false.
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Don't go after false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real.
22 For the Lord will not give his people up, because of the honour of his name; for it was the Lord's pleasure to make of you a people for himself.
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The Lord has made a solemn promise, and he will not abandon you, for he has decided to make you his own people.
23 And as for me, never will I go against the orders of the Lord by giving up my prayers for you: but I will go on teaching you the good and right way.
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As for me, the Lord forbid that I should sin against him by no longer praying for you. Instead, I will teach you what is good and right for you to do.
24 Only go in the fear of the Lord, and be his true servants with all your heart, keeping in mind what great things he has done for you.
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Obey the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Remember the great things he has done for you.
25 But if you still do evil, destruction will overtake you and your king.
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But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be destroyed."
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.