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Samuel Speaks to Israel

¹ Then Samuel said to all Israel, "Behold, ^(C1)I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and I ^(C2)have ^(F1)appointed a king over you.² "So now, ^(C1)here is the king walking before you, but ^(C2)I am old and gray, and behold, ^(C3)my sons are with you. And ^(C4)I have walked before you from my youth even to this day.³ "Here I am; bear witness against me before Yahweh and ^(C1)His anointed. ^(C2)Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^(C3)from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you."⁴ And they said, "You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand."⁵ So he said to them, "Yahweh is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^(C1)you have found nothing ^(C2)in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."

⁶ Then Samuel said to the people, "It is Yahweh who ^(F1)(C1)appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt.⁷ "So now, take your stand, ^(C1)that I may judge you before Yahweh concerning all the righteous acts of Yahweh which He did for you and your fathers.⁸ "^(C1)When Jacob went into Egypt and ^(C2)your fathers cried out to Yahweh, then ^(C3)Yahweh sent Moses and Aaron ^(F1)(C4)who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place.⁹ "But ^(C1)they forgot Yahweh their God, so ^(C2)He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^(C3)into the hand of the Philistines and ^(C4)into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.¹⁰ "^(C1)And they cried out to Yahweh and said, 'We have sinned because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served ^(C2)the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^(C3)now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.'¹¹ "Then Yahweh sent ^(C1)Jerubbaal and ^(F1)(C2)Bedan and ^(C3)Jephthah and ^(C4)Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.¹² "But you saw ^(C1)that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, and you said to me, '^(C2)No, but a king shall reign over us,' ^(C3)although Yahweh your God was your king.¹³ "So now, ^(C1)behold, the king whom you have chosen, ^(C2)whom you have asked for, and behold, Yahweh has set a king over you.¹⁴ "^(C1)If you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ^(F1)command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God.¹⁵ "^(C1)But if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh, but rebel against the ^(F1)command of Yahweh, then ^(C2)the hand of Yahweh will be against you, ^(C3)as it was against your fathers.¹⁶ "Even now, ^(C1)take your stand and see this great thing which Yahweh will do before your eyes.¹⁷ "^(C1)Is it not the wheat harvest today? ^(C2)I will call to Yahweh, that He may send ^(F1)thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^(C3)your wickedness is great which you have done in the eyes of Yahweh by asking for yourselves a king."¹⁸ So Samuel called to Yahweh, and Yahweh sent ^(F1)thunder and rain that day; and ^(C1)all the people greatly feared Yahweh and Samuel.

¹⁹ Then all the people said to Samuel, "^(C1)Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins ^(C2)this evil by asking for ourselves a king."²⁰ And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^(C1)do not turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart.²¹ "And you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^(C1)meaningless things which cannot profit and cannot deliver, because they are meaningless.²² "For ^(C1)Yahweh will not abandon His people ^(C2)on account of His great name, because Yahweh ^(C3)has been pleased to make you a people for Himself.²³ "Moreover, as for me, ^(C1)far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you; but ^(C2)I will instruct you in the good and upright way.²⁴ "^(C1)Only ^(F1)fear Yahweh and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for see ^(C2)what great things He has done for you.²⁵ "^(C1)But if you still do wickedly, ^(C2)both you and your king ^(C3)will be swept away."