1 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.
2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and gray-headed; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth unto this day.
3 Here I am: witness against me before theLord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man’s hand.
5 And he said unto them, TheLordis witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is witness.
6 And Samuel said unto the people, It is theLordthat appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before theLordconcerning all the righteous acts of theLord, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto theLord, then theLordsent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.
9 But they forgat theLordtheir God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host 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 unto theLord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken theLord, and have served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.
11 And theLordsent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled in safety.
12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us: when theLordyour God was your king.
13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have asked for: and, behold, theLordhath set a king over you.
14 If ye will fear theLord, and serve him, and hearken unto his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of theLord, and both ye and also the king that reigneth over you be followers of theLordyour God,well:
15 but if ye will not hearken unto the voice of theLord, but rebel against the commandment of theLord, then shall the hand of theLordbe against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which theLordwill do before your eyes.
17 Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call unto theLord, that he may send thunder and rain; and ye shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of theLord, in asking you a king.
18 So Samuel called unto theLord; and theLordsent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared theLordand Samuel.
19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto theLordthy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sinsthisevil, to ask us a king.
20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have indeed done all this evil: yet turn not aside from following theLord, but serve theLordwith all your heart;
21 and turn ye not aside: forthen should ye goafter vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.
22 For theLordwill not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased theLordto make you a people unto himself.
23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against theLordin ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
24 Only fear theLord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.