1 Samuel 12:13

13 Now therefore your king is ready, whom ye have chosen and asked (for); lo! the Lord hath given to you a king (lo! the Lord hath given you a king).

1 Samuel 12:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:13

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye
have desired
For though God chose their king for them, it was at their request; they chose to have a king, and desired one, and they approved of and consented to, and confirmed the choice he had made, and so it was in effect their own:

and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you;
he gratified them in their desires; though he did not suffer them to make themselves a king, he suffered them to have one, and he gave them one; this power he reserved to himself of setting up and pulling down kings at his pleasure.

1 Samuel 12:13 In-Context

11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, that is Gideon, and Bedan, that is, Samson, and Barak, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies by compass, (or all about); and then ye dwelled securely.

12 And ye saw, that Nahash, the king of the sons of Ammon, came against you; and ye said to me, counselling you to ask none other king than God, Nay, but a king shall command to us; when your Lord God reigned in you. (And then ye saw, that Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, came against you; and ye said to me, when I counselled you to ask for no other king than God, Nay, but a king shall command us; when the Lord your God then reigned over you.)

13 Now therefore your king is ready, whom ye have chosen and asked (for); lo! the Lord hath given to you a king (lo! the Lord hath given you a king).

14 If ye dread the Lord, and serve him, and hear his voice, and wrath not the mouth of the Lord; ye and your king, that commandeth to you, shall follow your Lord God. (If ye fear the Lord/If ye revere the Lord, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and do not rebel against the Lord's commands, then ye and your king, who commandeth you, shall follow the Lord your God.)

15 Forsooth if ye hear not the voice of the Lord, but wrath his word, the hand of the Lord shall be on you, and on your fathers. (But if ye do not listen to the Lord's voice, and rebel against his commands, the hand of the Lord shall be against you, and against your fathers.)