Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice in everything that you have said to me and ^bhave appointed a king over you. 2 And now, here is ^athe king walking before you. As for me, ^bI am old and gray, and here are ^cmy sons with you. ^dI have walked before you from my childhood to this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and Saul ^aHis anointed if I have done someone wrong. ^bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I exploited? Whom have I oppressed or ^cfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes to the truth? Tell me and I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us or taken anything at all from a man’s hand.” 5 Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and Saul His anointed is a witness this day that ^ayou have not found anything ^bin my hand.” And they answered, “He is a witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who ^aappointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers (ancestors) up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, take your stand, so ^athat I may plead and contend with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did for you and for your fathers. 8 ^aWhen Jacob and his sons had come into Egypt and later when the Egyptians oppressed them and ^byour ¹fathers cried out to the LORD, then ^cthe LORD sent Moses and Aaron ^dwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But when ^athey forgot the LORD their God, ^bHe sold them into the hand of ¹Sisera, commander of Hazor’s army, and ^cinto the hand of the Philistines and ^dof the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 ^aThey cried out to the LORD, saying, ‘We have sinned because we have abandoned (rejected) the Lord and have served ^bthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^cnow rescue us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then the LORD sent ^aJerubbaal (Gideon) and ^1bBedan and ^cJephthah and ^dSamuel, and He rescued you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in security.

12 But when you saw that ^aNahash king of the Ammonites had come against you, you said to me, ‘^bNo, but a king shall reign over us’—although ^cthe LORD your God was your King. 13 Now therefore, ^ahere is Saul the king whom you have chosen, and for ^bwhom you asked; behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 ^aIf you will fear the LORD with awe and profound reverence and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against His commandment, then both you and your king will follow the LORD your God and it will be well. 15 But ^aif you do not listen to the LORD’S voice, but rebel against His ¹command, then ^bthe hand of the LORD will be against you to punish you, ^cas it was against your fathers. 16 So now, ^atake your stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 ^aIs it not the beginning of the wheat harvest today? ^bI will call to the LORD and He will send thunder and rain; then you will know without any doubt, and see that your ^cevil which you have done is great in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD in prayer, and He sent thunder and rain that day; and ^aall the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “^aPray to the LORD your God for your servants, ¹so that we will not die, for we have added to all our sins this ^bevil—to ask for a king for ourselves.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet ^ado not turn away from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 You must not turn away, for then you would go after ^afutile things which cannot profit or rescue, because they are futile. 22 ^aThe LORD will not abandon His people ^bfor His great name’s sake, because ^cthe LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 Moreover, as for me, ^afar be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but ^bI will instruct you in the good and right way. 24 ^aOnly fear the LORD with awe and profound reverence and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; for consider ^bwhat great things He has done for you. 25 ^aBut if you still do evil, ^bboth you and your king ^cwill be swept away to destruction.”