1   Then Samuel thus addressed the assembled Israelites: ‘I have listened to your request and installed a king to rule over you. 2   And the king is now your leader, while I am old and white-haired and my sons are with you; but I have been your leader ever since I was a child. 3   Here I am. Lay your complaints against me in the presence of the Lord and of his anointed king. Whose ox have I taken, whose ass have I taken? Whom have I wronged, whom have I oppressed? From whom have I taken a bribe, to turn a blind eye? Tell me, and I will make restitution.’ 4   They answered, ‘You have not wronged us, you have not oppressed us; you have not taken anything from any man.’ 5   Samuel then said to them, ‘This day the Lord is witness among you, his anointed king is witness, that you have found my hands empty.’ They said, ‘He is witness.’ 6   Samuel said to the people, ‘Yes, the Lord is witness, ^note the Lord who gave you Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers out of Egypt. 7   Now stand up, and here in the presence of the Lord I will put the case against you and recite ^note all the victories which he has won for you and for your fathers. 8   After Jacob and his sons ^note had come down to Egypt and the Egyptians had made them suffer, ^note your fathers cried to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9   But they forgot the Lord their God, and he abandoned them to Sisera, commander-in-chief of Jabin king of ^note Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the

Saul anointed king king of Moab, and they had to fight against them. 10   Then your fathers cried to the Lord for help: “We have sinned, we have forsaken the Lord and we have worshipped the Baalim and the Ashtaroth. But now, if thou wilt deliver us from our enemies, we will worship thee.” 11   So the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Barak, ^note Jephthah and Samson, ^note and delivered you from your enemies on every side; and you lived in peace and quiet.

12   ‘Then, when you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites coming against you, although the Lord your God was your king, you said to me, “No, let us have a king to rule over us.” 13   Now, here is the king you asked for; you chose him, and the Lord has set a king over you. 14   If you will revere the Lord and give true and loyal service, if you do not rebel against his commands, and if you and the king who reigns over you are faithful to the Lord your God, well and good; 15   but if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, then he will set his face against you and against your king. ^note

16   ‘Stand still, and see the great wonder which the Lord will do before your eyes. 17   It is now wheat harvest; when I call upon the Lord and he sends thunder and rain, you will see and know how wicked it was in the Lord's eyes for you to ask for a king.’ 18   So Samuel called upon the Lord and he sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people were in great fear of the Lord and of Samuel. 19   They said to Samuel, ‘Pray for us your servants to the Lord your God, to save us from death; for we have added to all our other sins the great wickedness of asking for a king.’ 20   Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; although you have been so wicked, do not give up the worship of the Lord, but serve him with all your heart. 21   Give up ^note the worship of false gods which can neither help nor save, because they are false. 22   For his name's sake the Lord will not cast you off, because he has resolved to make you his own people. 23   As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord and cease to pray for you. 24   I will show you what is right and good: to revere the Lord and worship him faithfully with all your heart. Consider what great things he has done for you; 25   but if you persist in wickedness, you shall be swept away, you and your king.’

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