Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice for all that you said to me, and I ^bhave appointed a king over you. 2 Now, ^ahere is the king walking before you, but as for me, ^bI am old and gray, and ^cmy sons are here with you. And ^dI have walked before you since my youth to this day. 3 Here I am; testify against me before the LORD and ^aHis anointed. ^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 close my eyes with it? I will return it to you.” 4 And they said, “You have not exploited us or oppressed us, or taken anything from anyone’s hand.” 5 So he said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^ayou have found nothing ^bin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who ^1aappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 Now then, take your stand, ^aso that I may enter into judgment with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD that He did for you and your fathers. 8 ^aWhen Jacob went into Egypt and ^byour fathers cried out to the LORD, then ^cthe LORD sent Moses and Aaron ^1dwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But ^athey forgot the LORD their God, so ^bHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and ^cinto the hand of the Philistines, and ^dinto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 ^aThey cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have abandoned the LORD and have served ^bthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^cnow save us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then the LORD sent ^aJerubbaal, ^1bBedan, ^cJephthah, and ^dSamuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

12 But when you saw ^athat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon was coming against you, you said to me, ‘^bNo, but a king shall reign over us!’ ^cYet the LORD your God was your king. 13 And now, ^abehold, the king whom you have chosen, ^bwhom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has ¹put a king over you. 14 ^aIf you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ¹command of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. 15 But ^aif you do not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the ¹command of the LORD, then ^bthe hand of the LORD will be against you, ^ceven as it was against your fathers. 16 Even now, ^atake your stand and see this great thing which the LORD is going to do before your eyes. 17 ^aIs it not the wheat harvest today? ^bI will call to the LORD, that He will send ¹thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^cyour wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD, by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent ¹thunder 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, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins ^bthis evil, by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^ado not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^auseless things which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless. 22 For ^athe LORD will not abandon His people ^bon account of His great name, because the LORD ^chas been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 Furthermore, as for me, ^afar be it from me that I would sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but ^bI will instruct you in the good and right way. 24 ^aOnly ¹fear the LORD and serve Him in truth 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.”

Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, ^aI have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I ^bhave ¹appointed a king over you. 2 Now, ^ahere is the king walking before you, but ^bI am old and gray, and behold ^cmy sons are with you. And ^dI have walked before you from my youth even to this day. 3 Here I am; bear witness against me before the LORD and ^aHis anointed. ^bWhose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or ^cfrom whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 He said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that ^ayou have found nothing ^bin my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.”

6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who ^1aappointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 So now, take your stand, ^athat I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did for you and your fathers. 8 ^aWhen Jacob went into Egypt and ^byour fathers cried out to the LORD, then ^cthe LORD sent Moses and Aaron ^1dwho brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 But ^athey forgot the LORD their God, so ^bHe sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and ^cinto the hand of the Philistines and ^dinto the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 ^aThey cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the LORD and have served ^bthe Baals and the Ashtaroth; but ^cnow deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 Then the LORD sent ^aJerubbaal and ^1bBedan and ^cJephthah and ^dSamuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

12 When you saw ^athat Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘^bNo, but a king shall reign over us,’ ^calthough the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now therefore, ^ahere is the king whom you have chosen, ^bwhom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 ^aIf you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the ¹command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. 15 ^aIf you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the ¹command of the LORD, then ^bthe hand of the LORD will be against you, ^cas it was against your fathers. 16 Even now, ^atake your stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes. 17 ^aIs it not the wheat harvest today? ^bI will call to the LORD, that He may send ¹thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that ^cyour wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent ¹thunder and rain that day; and ^aall the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “^aPray for your servants to the LORD your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins ^bthis evil by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet ^ado not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 You must not turn aside, for then you would go after ^afutile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. 22 For ^athe LORD will not abandon His people ^bon account of His great name, because the LORD ^chas 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 ¹fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider ^bwhat great things He has done for you. 25 ^aBut if you still do wickedly, ^bboth you and your king ^cwill be swept away.”