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| 1 And Samuel saith unto all Israel, 'Lo, I have hearkened to your voice, to all that ye said to me, and I cause to reign over you a king, |
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| 2 and now, lo, the king is walking habitually before you, and I have become aged and gray-headed, and my sons, lo, they [are] with you, and I have walked habitually before you from my youth till this day. |
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| 3 'Lo, here [am] I; testify against me, over-against Jehovah, and over-against His anointed; whose ox have I taken, and whose ass have I taken, and whom have I oppressed; whom have I bruised, and of whose hand have I taken a ransom, and hide mine eyes with it and I restore to you.' |
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| 4 And they say, 'Thou hast not oppressed us, nor hast thou crushed us, nor hast thou taken from the hand of any one anything.' |
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| 5 And he saith unto them, 'A witness [is] Jehovah against you: and a witness [is] His anointed this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand;' and they say, 'A witness.' |
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| 6 And Samuel saith unto the people, 'Jehovah He who made Moses and Aaron, and who brought up your fathers out of the land of Egypt! |
The Spirit of God – The spirit of wisdom or judgment pertaining to the government of Israel. E176
Came upon Saul – Energizing his mind mechanically without affecting him in any moral sense. E175
For as long as he was loyal to God. E176
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| 7 and, now, station yourselves, and I judge you before Jehovah, with all the righteous acts of Jehovah, which He did with you, and with your fathers. |
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| 8 'When Jacob hath come in to Egypt, and your fathers cry unto Jehovah, then Jehovah sendeth Moses and Aaron, and they bring out your fathers from Egypt, and cause them to dwell in this place, |
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| 9 and they forget Jehovah their God, and He selleth them into the hand of Sisera, head of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fight against them, |
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| 10 and they cry unto Jehovah, and say, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and serve the Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and now, deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we serve Thee. |
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| 11 'And Jehovah sendeth Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivereth you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and ye dwell confidently. |
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| 12 'And ye see that Nahash king of the Bene-Ammon hath come against you, and ye say to me, Nay, but a king doth reign over us; and Jehovah your God [is] your king! |
Bring the men – When the power of Messiah shall be manifested, the general sentiment of the world toward him will be loyalty. R3219:4
Put them to death – The great Armageddon is at hand. Thereafter the kingdom of Messiah will be popular and they will say, "Let those who oppose be put to death." R5636:2
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| 13 And, now, lo, the king whom ye have chosen whom ye have asked! and lo, Jehovah hath placed over you a king. |
Not a man – But the Messiah will show mercy toward those who, during the darkness of the present time, have spoken evil of him. R3219:4
The king was wise and generous. R5635:5
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| 14 'If ye fear Jehovah, and have served Him, and hearkened to His voice, then ye do not provoke the mouth of Jehovah, and ye have been both ye and the king who hath reigned over you after Jehovah your God. |
Gilgal – One of several prominent places for public gatherings at which Samuel was in the habit of holding court as judge. R3222:3
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| 15 'And if ye do not hearken to the voice of Jehovah then ye have provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and the hand of Jehovah hath been against you, and against your fathers. |
They made Saul king – The interim had given time for the appreciation of their new king. So, the influence of the Church, after anointing and before coronation, will have a helpful influence upon the world. R4199:1
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| 16 'Also now, station yourselves and see this great thing which Jehovah is doing before your eyes;
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| 17 is it not wheat-harvest to-day I call unto Jehovah, and He doth give voices and rain; and know ye and see that your evil is great which ye have done in the eyes of Jehovah, to ask for you a king.' |
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| 18 And Samuel calleth unto Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth voices and rain, on that day, and all the people greatly fear Jehovah and Samuel; |
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| 19 and all the people say unto Samuel, 'Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, and we do not die, for we have added to all our sins evil to ask for us a king.' |
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| 20 And Samuel saith unto the people, 'Fear not; ye have done all this evil; only, turn not aside from after Jehovah and ye have served Jehovah with all your heart, |
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| 21 and ye do not turn aside after the vain things which do not profit nor deliver, for they [are] vain, |
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| 22 for Jehovah doth not leave His people, on account of His great name; for Jehovah hath been pleased to make you to Him for a people. |
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| 23 'I, also, far be it from me to sin against Jehovah, by ceasing to pray for you, and I have directed you in the good and upright way; |
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| 24 only, fear ye Jehovah, and ye have served Him in truth with all your heart, for see that which He hath made great with you; |
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| 25 and if ye really do evil, both ye and your king are consumed.' |
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