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1 Samuel Chapter 12

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lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all things that ye have said to me, and I have set a king over you.
2 And now, behold, the king goes before you; and I am grown old and shall rest; and, behold, my sons [are] among you; and, behold, I have gone about before you from my youth to this day.
3 Behold, [here am] I, answer against me before the Lord and before his anointed: whose calf have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom of you have I oppressed? or whom have I been violent with? or from whose hand have I taken a bribe, even [to] a sandal? bear witness against me, and I will make restitution to you.
4 And they said to Samuel, Thou hast not injured us, and thou hast not oppressed us; and thou hast not afflicted us, and thou hast not taken anything from any one's hand.
5 And Samuel said to the people, The Lord [is] witness among you, and his anointed [is] witness this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand: and they said, [He is] witness.
6 And Samuel spoke to the people, saying, The Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron [is] witness, who brought our fathers up out of Egypt.
7 And now stand still, and I will judge you before the Lord; and I will relate to you all the righteousness of the Lord, the things which he has wrought among you and your fathers.
8 When Jacob and his sons went into Egypt, and Egypt humbled them, then our fathers cried to the Lord, and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron; and they brought our fathers out of Egypt, and he made them to dwell in this place.
9 And they forgot the Lord their God, and he sold them into the hands of Sisara captain of the host of Jabis king of Asor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the king of Moab; and he fought with them.
10 And they cried to the Lord, and said, We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and the groves: and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.
11 And he sent Jerobaal, and Barac, and Jephthae, and Samuel, and rescued us out of the hand of our enemies round about, and ye dwelt in security.
12 And ye saw that Naas king of the children of Ammon came against you, and ye said, Nay, none but a king shall reign over us; whereas the Lord our God [is] our king.
13 And now behold the king whom ye have chosen; and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.
14 If ye should fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not resist the mouth of the Lord, and ye and your king that reigns over you should follow the Lord, [well].
15 But if ye should not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and ye should resist the mouth of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be upon you and upon your king.
16 And now stand still, and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.
17 [Is it] not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; and know ye and see, that your wickedness [is] great which ye have wrought before the Lord, having asked for yourselves a king.
18 And Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunders and rain in that day; and all the people feared greatly the Lord and Samuel.
19 And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, and let us not die; for we have added to all our sins this iniquity, in asking for us a king.
20 And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have [indeed] wrought all this iniquity; only turn not from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart.
21 And turn not aside after the [gods] that are nothing, who will do nothing, and will not deliver [you], because they are nothing.
22 For the Lord will not cast off his people for his great name's sake, because the Lord graciously took you to himself for a people.
23 And far be it from me to sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will serve the Lord, and shew you the good and the right way.
24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and with all your heart, for ye see what great things he has wrought with you.
25 But if ye continue to do evil, then shall ye and your king be consumed.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.
2 Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to this day.
3 Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
4 They said, “You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone’s hand.”
5 He said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” They said, “He is witness.”
6 Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who 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 the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8 “When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.
9 But they forgot the LORD their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain 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 They cried 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, and we will serve you.’
11 The LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.
12 “When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king.
13 Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. Behold, the LORD has set a king over you.
14 If you will fear the LORD, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of the LORD your God.
15 But if you will not listen to the LORD’s voice, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the LORD’s hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 “Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.
17 Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that he may send thunder and rain; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the LORD’s sight, in asking for a king.”
18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day. Then all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.”
20 Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn away from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
21 Don’t turn away to go after vain things which can’t profit or deliver, for they are vain.
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 in ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and the right way.
24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.
25 But if you keep doing evil, you will be consumed, both you and your king.”

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).