Samuel’s Farewell Speech
1 Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
2 Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day.
3 Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of theLordand his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these things, I will make it right.”
4 “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.”
5 Samuel said to them, “TheLordis witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand.”
“He is witness,” they said.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is theLordwho appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of Egypt.
7 Now then, stand here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before theLordas to all the righteous acts performed by theLordfor you and your ancestors.
8 “After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to theLordfor help, and theLordsent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place.
9 “But they forgot theLordtheir God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
10 They cried out to theLordand said, ‘We have sinned; we have forsaken theLordand served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.’
11 Then theLordsent Jerub-Baal,Barak,Jephthah and Samuel,and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around you, so that you lived in safety.
12 “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though theLordyour God was your king.
13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, theLordhas set a king over you.
14 If you fear theLordand serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow theLordyour God—good!
15 But if you do not obey theLord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.
16 “Now then, stand still and see this great thing theLordis about to do before your eyes!
17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call on theLordto send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of theLordwhen you asked for a king.”
18 Then Samuel called on theLord, and that same day theLordsent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of theLordand of Samuel.
19 The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to theLordyour God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20 “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from theLord, but serve theLordwith all your heart.
21 Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.
22 For the sake of his great name theLordwill not reject his people, because theLordwas pleased to make you his own.
23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against theLordby failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right.
24 But be sure to fear theLordand serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.
25 Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will perish.”
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/1SA/12-a7641839c70534a2c405935884b779e8.mp3?version_id=111—