1 Samuel 12-13

Contemporary English Version

Samuel's Farewell Speech

12 Samuel told the Israelites:

I have given you a king, just as you asked. ²You have seen how I have led you ever since I was a young man. I'm already old. My hair is gray, and my own sons are grown. Now you must see how well your king will lead you.

³^(A) Let me ask this. Have I ever taken anyone's ox or donkey or forced you to give me anything? Have I ever hurt anyone or taken a bribe to give an unfair decision? Answer me so the Lord and his chosen king can hear you. And if I have done any of these things, I will give it all back.

⁴“No,” the Israelites answered. “You've never cheated us in any way!”

⁵Samuel said, “The Lord and his chosen king are witnesses to what you have said.”

“That's true,” they replied.

⁶^(B) Then Samuel told them:

The Lord brought your ancestors out of Egypt and chose Moses and Aaron to be your leaders. ⁷Now the Lord will be your judge. So stand here and listen, while I remind you how often the Lord has saved you and your ancestors from your enemies.

⁸^(C) After Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your ancestors out of Egypt and led them here to settle this land. ⁹^(D) But your ancestors forgot the Lord, so he let them be defeated by the Philistines, the king of Moab, and Sisera, the commander of Hazor's army.

¹⁰^(E)^(F) Again your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help. They said, “We have sinned! We stopped worshiping you, our Lord, and started worshiping Baal and Astarte. But now, if you rescue us from our enemies, we will worship you.”

¹¹^(G) The Lord sent Gideon,^[a] Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel to rescue you from your enemies, and you didn't have to worry about being attacked. ¹²^(H) Then you saw that King Nahash of Ammon was going to attack you. And even though the Lord your God is your king, you told me, “This time it's different. We want a king to rule us!”

¹³You asked for a king, and you chose one. Now he stands here where all of you can see him. But it was really the Lord who made him your king. ¹⁴If you and your king want to be followers of the Lord, you must worship him^[b] and do what he says. Don't be stubborn! ¹⁵If you're stubborn and refuse to obey the Lord, he will turn against you and your king.^[c]

¹⁶Just stand here and watch the Lord show his mighty power. ¹⁷Isn't this the dry season?^[d] I'm going to ask the Lord to send a thunderstorm. When you see it, you will realize how wrong you were to ask for a king.

¹⁸Samuel prayed, and that same day the Lord sent a thunderstorm. Everyone was afraid of the Lord and of Samuel. ¹⁹They told Samuel, “Please, pray to the Lord your God for us! We don't want to die. We have sinned many times in the past, and we were very wrong to ask for a king.”

²⁰Samuel answered:

Even though what you did was wrong, you don't need to be afraid. But you must always follow the Lord and worship him with all your heart. ²¹Don't worship idols! They don't have any power, and they can't help you or save you when you're in trouble. ²²But the Lord has chosen you to be his own people. He will always take care of you so that everyone will know how great he is.

²³I would be disobeying the Lord if I stopped praying for you! I will always teach you how to live right. ²⁴You also must obey the Lord—you must worship him with all your heart and remember the great things he has done for you. ²⁵But if you and your king do evil, the Lord will wipe you out.

Saul Disobeys the Lord

13 Saul was a young man^[e] when he became king, and he ruled Israel for two years. ²Then^[f] he chose 3,000 men from Israel to be full-time soldiers and sent everyone else^[g] home. Two thousand of these troops stayed with him in the hills around Michmash and Bethel. The other 1,000 were stationed with Jonathan^[h] at Gibeah^[i] in the territory of Benjamin.

³Jonathan led an attack on the Philistine army camp at Geba.^[j] The Philistine camp was destroyed, but^[k] the other Philistines heard what had happened. Then Saul told his messengers, “Go to every village in the country. Give a signal with the trumpet, and when the people come together, tell them what has happened.”

⁴The messengers then said to the people of Israel, “Saul has destroyed the Philistine army camp at Geba.^[l] Now the Philistines really hate Israel, so every town and village must send men to join Saul's army at Gilgal.”

⁵The Philistines called their army together to fight Israel. They had 3,000^[m] chariots, 6,000 cavalry, and as many foot soldiers as there are grains of sand on the beach. They went to Michmash and set up camp there east of Beth-Aven.^[n]

⁶The Israelite army realized that they were outnumbered and were going to lose the battle. Some of the Israelite men hid in caves or in clumps of bushes,^[o] and some ran to places where they could hide among large rocks. Others hid in tombs^[p] or in deep dry pits. ⁷Still others^[q] went to Gad and Gilead on the other side of the Jordan River.

Saul stayed at Gilgal. His soldiers were shaking with fear, ⁸^(I) and they were starting to run off and leave him. Saul waited there seven days, just as Samuel had ordered him to do,^[r] but Samuel did not come. ⁹Finally, Saul commanded, “Bring me some animals, so we can offer sacrifices to please the Lord and ask for his help.”

Saul killed one of the animals, ¹⁰and just as he placed it on the altar, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to welcome him.

¹¹“What have you done?” Samuel asked.

Saul answered, “My soldiers were leaving in all directions, and you didn't come when you were supposed to. The Philistines were gathering at Michmash, ¹²and I was worried that they would attack me here at Gilgal. I hadn't offered a sacrifice to ask for the Lord's help, so I forced myself to offer a sacrifice on the altar fire.”

¹³“That was stupid!” Samuel said. “You didn't obey the Lord your God. If you had obeyed him, someone from your family would always have been king of Israel. ¹⁴^(J) But no, you disobeyed, and so the Lord won't choose anyone else from your family to be king. In fact, he has already chosen the one he wants to be the next leader of his people.” ¹⁵Then Samuel left Gilgal.

Part of Saul's army had not deserted him, and he led them to Gibeah in Benjamin to join his other troops. Then he counted them^[s] and found that he still had 600 men. ¹⁶Saul, Jonathan, and their army set up camp at Geba in Benjamin.

Jonathan Attacks the Philistines

The Philistine army was camped at Michmash. ¹⁷Each day they sent out patrols to attack and rob villages and then destroy them. One patrol would go north along the road to Ophrah in the region of Shual. ¹⁸Another patrol would go west along the road to Beth-Horon. A third patrol would go east toward the desert on the road to the ridge that overlooks Zeboim Valley.

¹⁹The Philistines would not allow any Israelites to learn how to make iron tools. “If we allowed that,” they said, “those worthless Israelites would make swords and spears.”

^20-21Whenever the Israelites wanted to get an iron point put on a cattle prod,^[t] they had to go to the Philistines. Even if they wanted to sharpen plow-blades, picks, axes, sickles,^[u] and pitchforks^[v] they still had to go to them. And the Philistines charged high prices. ²²So, whenever the Israelite soldiers had to go into battle, none of them had a sword or a spear except Saul and his son Jonathan.

²³The Philistines moved their camp to the pass at Michmash,

Footnotes

12.11 Gideon: The Hebrew text has “Jerubbaal,” another name for “Gideon.”
12.14 If … him: Or “If you and your king want things to go well for you, then you must worship the Lord.”
12.15 and your king: One ancient translation; Hebrew “and your ancestors” or “as he was against your ancestors.”
12.17 the dry season: The Hebrew text has “time for wheat harvest,” which was usually in the spring, the beginning of the dry season.
13.1 a young man: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text; several manuscripts of one ancient translation have “thirty years old.”
13.1,2 for … Then: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13.2 everyone else: People who were not full-time soldiers, but fought together with the army when the nation was in danger.
13.2 Jonathan: Saul's son (see verse 16).
13.2 Michmash … Bethel … Gibeah: These three towns form a triangle, with Bethel to the north.
13.3 Geba: Geba was between Gibeah and Michmash.
13.3 led an attack … destroyed, but: Or “killed the Philistine military governor who lived at Geba, and.”
13.4 destroyed … Geba: Or “killed the Philistine military governor who lived at Geba.”
13.5 3,000: Some ancient translations; Hebrew “30,000.”
13.5 Beth-Aven: This Beth-Aven was probably located about one and a half kilometers southwest of Michmash, between Michmash and Geba.
13.6 in … bushes: Or “in cracks in the rocks.”
13.6 tombs: The Hebrew word may mean a room cut into solid rock and used as a burial place, or it may mean a cellar.
13.7 Still others: This translates a Hebrew word which may be used of wandering groups of people who sometimes became outlaws or hired soldiers (see also 14.21).
13.8 Samuel … to do: See 10.8.
13.15 Then Samuel … counted them: Two ancient translations; Hebrew “Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted his army.”
13.20,21 cattle prod: A pole used to poke cattle and make them move.
13.20,21 sickles: One ancient translation; Hebrew “plow-blades.”
13.20,21 pitchforks: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.