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| 1 And Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that ye said to me, and have made a king over you. |
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| 2 And now behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and grey-headed; and behold, my sons are with you; and I have walked before you from my youth up to this day. |
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| 3 Here I am: testify against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I injured? or of whose hand have I received any ransom and blinded mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it to you. |
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| 4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, and thou hast not injured us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand. |
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| 5 And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand! And the people said, He is witness! |
Have not found ought – Every family member, similarly, should be able to call fellow-members to witness their faithfulness. R4199:3
He is witness – Of his spotlessness, his integrity as a judge. R4193:3
A wonderful tribute. In our day, however, even the noblest officials have their traducers and backbiters. R3222:3
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| 6 And Samuel said to the people, It is Jehovah who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. |
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| 7 And now stand still, that I may plead with you before Jehovah of all the righteous acts of Jehovah which he did to you and to your fathers. |
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| 8 When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to Jehovah, then Jehovah sent Moses and Aaron, and they brought your fathers forth out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. |
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| 9 And they forgot Jehovah their God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. |
King of Moab – "Moab is my washpot" (Psa. 108:9) to cleanse Israel from the R4199:5
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| 10 And they cried to Jehovah and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken Jehovah, and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths; and now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. |
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| 11 And Jehovah sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies round about, so that ye dwelt in safety. |
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| 12 But when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said to me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us; when Jehovah your God was your king. |
Nay – Concluding that their disasters were not punishments, but the result of poor political organization. R4199:5
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| 13 And now behold, the king whom ye have chosen, whom ye have asked for! and behold, Jehovah has set a king over you. |
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| 14 If ye fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and rebel not against the commandment of Jehovah, then both ye and the king also that reigns over you shall continue following Jehovah your God. |
Ye and also the king – A sin by the king would mean a national sin, for which the people as well as the king would be punished; unlike sins of the judges. R4200:3
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| 15 But if ye will not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and if ye rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as against your fathers. |
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| 16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing which Jehovah will do before your eyes. |
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| 17 Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call unto Jehovah, and he will send thunder and rain; and ye shall perceive and see that your wickedness is great which ye have done in the sight of Jehovah in asking for yourselves a king. |
That ye may perceive – Corroborating his declaration that their calling for a king was a sin by the people. R4200:3
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| 18 And Samuel called to Jehovah; and Jehovah sent thunder and rain that day. And all the people greatly feared Jehovah and Samuel. |
And rain that day – Ordinarily it does not rain in Palestine from the end of April to the beginning of October. R3223:3
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| 19 And all the people said to Samuel, Pray to Jehovah thy God for thy servants, that we die not; for we have added to all our sins the wickedness to ask for ourselves a king. |
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| 20 And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: *ye* have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, and serve Jehovah with all your heart; |
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| 21 and turn ye not aside; for it would be after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. |
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| 22 For Jehovah will not cast away his people for his great name's sake; because it has pleased Jehovah to make you his people. |
Will not forsake – Israelites indeed in spiritual Babylon. R4200:2
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| 23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you; and I will teach you the good and right way. |
To pray for you – This illustrates the grandeur of Samuel's character. He seems to have none of the animosities which some smaller creature might have. R3223:6
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| 24 Only, fear Jehovah, and serve him in truth, with all your heart; for see how great things he has done for you. |
With all your heart – A loyal heart will control all the products of life. R4201:3
Great things – With even greater force for spiritual Israel. R4201:5
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| 25 But if ye do wickedly, ye shall perish, both ye and your king. |
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