1 Samuel 12:13-25 – The Path Of National Blessing

Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 21 Feb 2021

Introduction:

vs. 14-15 The Contract

v.16-19 The Sign of the Storm

vs. 20-22 Reassurance of God’s Grace

vs. 23-25 Conclusion

1 Samuel 12:13-25Side-by side comparison of versionsA

V.

Septuagint

Brenton

D-R

KJV

NAW

MT

13

καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς ὃν ἐξελέξασθε X X XB καὶ ἰδοὺ δέδωκεν κύριος ἐφ᾽ ὑμᾶς βασιλέα

And now behold the king whom ye have chosen X X X; and behold, the Lord has set a king over you.

Now therefore [your] king is here, whom you have chosen and desired: Behold the Lord hath given X you a king.

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, [andC] whom ye have desiredD! and, behold, the Lord hath setE a king over you.

So now, see the king whom y’all have chosen – whom y’all requested, and see, Yahweh has granted a king over y’all.

וְעַתָּה, הִנֵּה הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר בְּחַרְתֶּם--אֲשֶׁר שְׁאֶלְתֶּם; וְהִנֵּה נָתַן יְהוָה עֲלֵיכֶם, מֶלֶךְ.

14

ἐὰν φοβηθῆτε τὸν κύριον καὶ δουλεύσητε αὐτῷ καὶ ἀκούσητε τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐρίσητε τῷ στόματι κυρίου καὶ ἦτε καὶ ὑμεῗς καὶ X ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ βασιλεύων ἐφ᾽ ὑμῶν ὀπίσω κυρίου πορευόμενοιF

If ye should fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not resist the mouth of the Lord, and X X ye and X your king that reigns over you should follow the Lord, well.

If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not provoke the mouth of the Lord: then shall both you, and X the king who reign­eth over you, be followers of the Lord your God.

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obeyG X his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you [continue] following the Lord your GodH:

If y’all are respectful of Yahweh and serve Him and give heed to His voice and don’t rebel against the mouthpeice of Yahweh, then y’all – both you and also the king who reigns over y’all – may continue following Yahweh your God.

אִם-תִּירְאוּI אֶת- יְהוָה, וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֹתוֹ וּשְׁמַעְתֶּם בְּקוֹלוֹ, וְלֹא תַמְרוּJ, אֶת-פִּי יְהוָה--וִהְיִתֶםK גַּם- אַתֶּם, וְגַם-הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ עֲלֵיכֶם, אַחַר, יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.L

15

ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀκούσητε τῆς φωνῆς κυρίου καὶ ἐρίσητε τῷ στόματι κυρίου καὶ ἔσται χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπὶ ὑμᾶς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα ὑμῶν

But if ye should not hearken to the voice of the Lord, and ye should resist the mouth of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be upon you and upon your king.

But if you will not hearken to the voice of the Lord, but will rebel against his word[s] X, X the hand of the Lord shall be upon you, and upon your fathers.

But if ye will not obey X the voice of the Lord, but re­bel against the com­mandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as [it was] against your fathers.

However, if y’all do not give heed to the voice of Yahweh – if y’all rebel against the mouthpeice of Yahweh, then the hand of Yahweh will be against y’all and against your {king}.

וְאִם-לֹא תִשְׁמְעוּ בְּקוֹל יְהוָה, וּמְרִיתֶם אֶת-פִּי יְהוָה--וְהָיְתָה יַד-יְהוָה בָּכֶם, וּבַאֲבֹתֵיכֶםM.

16

καὶ νῦν κατάστητε καὶ ἴδετε τὸ ῥῆμα τὸ μέγα τοῦτο ὃ ὁ κύριος ποιήσει ἐν ὀφθαλμοῗς ὑμῶν

And now stand still, and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.

Now then stand, and see this great thing which the Lord will do in your sight.

Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.

Moreover, y’all stand at attention now and watch this great thing that Yahweh does before your eyes.

גַּם-עַתָּה הִתְיַצְּבוּN וּרְאוּ, אֶת-הַדָּבָר הַגָּדוֹל הַזֶּה, אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה, עֹשֶׂה לְעֵינֵיכֶם.

17

οὐχὶ θερισμὸς πυρῶν σήμερον ἐπικαλέσομαι κύριον καὶ δώσει φωνὰς καὶ ὑετόν καὶ γνῶτε καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι ἡ κακία ὑμῶν μεγάλη ἣν ἐποιήσατε ἐνώπιον κυρίου αἰτήσαντες ἑαυτοῗς βασιλέα

Is it not wheat-harvest to-day? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; and know ye and see, that your wickedness is great which ye have wrought before the Lord, having asked for yourselves a king.

Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain: and you shall know and see that you yourselves have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord, in desiring a king over you.

Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king.

Isn’t it wheat harvest today? I will call out to Yahweh, and He will issue thunders and rain. Then y’all will know and see that your wickedness which y’all committed by asking a king for yourselves is a big deal in the eyes of Yahweh.”

הֲלוֹא קְצִיר- חִטִּים, הַיּוֹם--אֶקְרָא אֶל-יְהוָה, וְיִתֵּן קֹלוֹת וּמָטָר; וּדְעוּ וּרְאוּ, כִּי- רָעַתְכֶם רַבָּה אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה, לִשְׁאוֹל לָכֶם, מֶלֶךְ. {ס}

18

καὶ ἐπεκαλέσατο Σαμουηλ τὸν κύριον καὶ ἔδωκεν κύριος φωνὰς καὶ ὑετὸν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ ἐφοβή­θησαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς τὸν κύριον σφόδρα καὶ τὸν Σαμουηλ

And Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunders and rain in that day; and all the people feared greatly the Lord and Samuel.

And Samuel cried unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day. 19 And all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.

Then Samuel called out to Yahweh, and Yahweh issued thunders and rain throughout that day. And all the people became very afraid of Yahweh – and of Samuel,

וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל- יְהוָה, וַיִּתֵּן יְהוָה קֹלֹת וּמָטָר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא; וַיִּירָא כָל- הָעָם מְאֹד אֶת- יְהוָה, וְאֶת-שְׁמוּאֵל.

19

καὶ εἶπαν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς πρὸς Σαμ­ουηλ πρόσευξαι ὑπὲρ τῶν δούλων σου πρὸς κύριον θεόν σου καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνωμεν ὅτι προστεθείκαμεν πρὸς πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν κακίαν αἰτήσαντες ἑαυτοῗς βασιλέα

And all the people said to Samuel, Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, and let us not die; for we have added to all our sins [this] iniquity, in asking for us a king.

And all the people said to Samuel: Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins [this] evil, to ask for X a king.

And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins [this] evil, to ask us a king.

and all the people said to Samuel, “Pray on behalf of your servants to Yahweh your God, that we might not die, for we have added wickedness on top of all our sins by asking a king for ourselves!”

וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָל-הָעָם אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל, הִתְפַּלֵּל בְּעַד-עֲבָדֶיךָ אֶל- יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ--וְאַל-נָמוּת: כִּי- יָסַפְנוּ עַל-כָּל- חַטֹּאתֵינוּ רָעָה, לִשְׁאֹל לָנוּ מֶלֶךְ.

20

καὶ εἶπεν Σαμουηλ πρὸς τὸν λαόν μὴ φοβεῗσθε ὑμεῗς πεποιήκατε τὴν πᾶσαν κακίαν ταύτην πλὴν μὴ ἐκκλίνητε ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν κυρίου καὶ δουλεύσατε τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν

And Samuel said to the people, Fear not: ye have indeed wrought all this iniquity; only turn not from following the Lord, and serve the Lord with all your heart.

And Samuel said to the people: Fear not, you have done all this evil: but yet depart not from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.

And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;

Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid: Y’all indeed have done all this wick­edness, however, don’t y’all turn away from following Yahweh, rath­er, serve Yahweh with all your heart.

וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל- הָעָם, אַל-תִּירָאוּ- -אַתֶּם עֲשִׂיתֶם, אֵת כָּל-הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת; אַךְ, אַל-תָּסוּרוּ מֵאַחֲרֵי יְהוָה, וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֶת-יְהוָה, בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם.

21

καὶ μὴ παραβῆτε X ὀπίσω τῶν μηθὲνO [ὄντων] οἳ οὐ περανοῦσιν [οὐθὲν] καὶ [οἳ] οὐκ ἐξελοῦνται ὅτι οὐθέν εἰσιν

And turn not aside X after the [gods that are] nothing, who will do [nothing], and will not deliver you, because they are nothing.

And turn not aside after vain thing[s] which shall never profit [you], nor deliver [you], because they are vain.

And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vainP thing[s], which cannot profitQ nor deliver; for they are vain.

So, don’t turn away for following the empty-thing[s] (which won’t benefit or rescue, because they are empty),

וְלֹא, תָּסוּרוּ: כִּי אַחֲרֵי הַתֹּהוּ, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יוֹעִילוּ וְלֹא יַצִּילוּ--כִּי-תֹהוּR הֵמָּה.

22

ὅτι οὐκ ἀπώσεται κύριος τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ τὸ μέγα ὅτι ἐπιεικέως κύριος προσελάβετο ὑμᾶς αὑτῷ εἰς λαόν

For the Lord will not cast off his people for his great name’s sake, because the Lord graciously took you to himself for a people.

And the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because the Lord hath sworn to make you his people.

For the Lord will not forsakeS his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.

because Yahweh will not leave His people, on account of His great reputation, for Yahweh determined to make y’all into a people belonging to Him.

כִּי לֹא-יִטֹּשׁ יְהוָה, אֶת-עַמּוֹ--בַּעֲבוּר, שְׁמוֹ הַגָּדוֹל: כִּי הוֹאִיל יְהוָה, לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶתְכֶם לוֹ לְעָם.

23

καὶ ἐμοὶ μηδαμῶς τοῦ ἁμαρτεῗν τῷ κυρίῳ ἀνιέναι τοῦ προσεύχεσθαι περὶ ὑμῶν καὶ δουλεύ­σω τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ δείξω ὑμῗν X τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν ἀγαθὴν καὶ τὴν εὐθεῗαν

And far be it from me to sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will serve the Lord, and shew you X the good and the right way.

And far from me be [this] sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you, and I will teach you X the good and right way.

Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you X the good and the right way:

Furthermore, as for me, it would be a disgrace for me to sin against Yahweh by ceasing to pray in y’all’s behalf. I will also instruct y’all in the good and right way.

גַּם אָנֹכִי, חָלִילָהT לִּי מֵחֲטֹא לַיהוָה--מֵחֲדֹל, לְהִתְפַּלֵּלU בַּעַדְכֶם; וְהוֹרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם, בְּדֶרֶךְ הַטּוֹבָה וְהַיְשָׁרָה.

24

πλὴν φοβεῗσθε τὸν κύριον καὶ δουλεύσατε αὐτῷ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν ὅτι εἴδετε ἃ ἐμεγάλυνεν μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν

Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and with all your heart, for ye see what great thing[s he has wrought] with you.

Therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in truth and with your whole heart, for you have seen the great [works] which [he hath done] among you.

Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truthV with all your heart: for consider how great thing[s he hath done] for you.

Just respect Yahweh, and serve Him in truth {and} with all your heart, because, look at what He has made great with y’all!

אַךְ יְראוּ אֶת- יְהוָה, וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֹתוֹ בֶּאֱמֶת--בְּכָל-לְבַבְכֶם: כִּי רְאוּ, אֵת אֲשֶׁר- הִגְדִּל עִמָּכֶם.

25

καὶ ἐὰν κακίᾳ κακοποιήσητε καὶ ὑμεῗς καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν προστεθήσεσθεW

But if ye continue to do evil, then shall X ye and your king be consumed.

But if you will still do wicked­ly: both you and your king shall perish [together].

But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumedX, both ye and your king.

But if y’all continue to do evil, both y’all and your king will be swept away.”

וְאִם-הָרֵעַ, תָּרֵעוּ- -גַּם-אַתֶּם גַּם- מַלְכְּכֶם, תִּסָּפוּ. פ


1Goldman, the NIV, and the ESV, on the other hand, interpreted this as an additional protasis (“and if you continue to follow”) with an unwritten apodosis (“then it will be well with you”). While not out of the spirit of the text, they added an awful lot of words which are not actually there.

2 These words describing what it means to have God’s hand against you are added to the Lucian rescription of the Greek.

3 Other translations of יאל throughout Scripture include: venture, take upon self, be willing, agree, be content, begin...

4Gill preferred the former. Delitzsch suggested along a different line that the great thing was “giving them a king.”

5 אֶת־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂה יהוָה הַגָּדֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה׃

6סףה only occurs about 14 other times in the OT, about a quarter of them referring to the destruction of Sodom, and most of the rest referring to God’s judgment on Israel, starting with Korah, Dathan and Abiram and moving on to the Babylonian exile: Gen. 18:23-24; 19:15, 17; Num. 16:26; 1 Sam. 26:10; 27:1; 1 Chr. 21:12; Ps. 40:15; Prov. 13:23; Isa. 7:20; 13:15; Jer. 12:4; Amos 3:15. (I omit the passages in Deut. which have a tradition of being tagged as forms of סףה but are traditionally translated as though forms of יסף.)

7The chiastic use of these verbs are striking: “...14fear and serve the Lord… 18the people feared… 20do not fear but serve… 24only fear and serve...”

AMy original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright restrictions have forced me to remove them from the publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB, or NIV (which is rare). NAW is my translation. When a translation adds words not in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so (such as by the use of italics or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different from all the other translations, I underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between the various editions and versions when there are more than two different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea Scrolls containing First Samuel 12 are 4Q52 Samuelb, containing fragments of verses 3-6 and dated to 250BC, and 4Q51Samuela, which contains fragments of vs. 7-19, and which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS confirms the MT text, I colored the letters of the MT purple. Where the DSS supports the LXX with omissions or insertions not in the MT, I have highlighted with yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.

B There are Alexandrian Greek manuscripts which include the additional phrase “and whom ye asked-for” in the Hebrew.

CThere are some manuscripts which insert “and” here, according to Kittel, including Syriac, Vulgate, and some Targums and Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, but it’s not in the MT or the Vaticanus or Rahlfs Greek editions.

D NASB, NIV, and ESV = “asked”

E NASB = “put,” Lit. “given”

F The MT, Vulgate, and DSS reads “your God” rather than the LXX “walking”

G The Hebrew word here shemah, has more to do with “hearing” than “obeying,” thus the NASB “listen.” Same in v.15.

HNIV & ESV add an “if” which is not in the Hebrew or Greek and also add an apodosis which is also not in the Greek or Hebrew to the effect: “then well and good.” It’s possible the DSS had a word like that also, because there is extra space for one between the legible words, but the scroll has disintegrated at the end of the verse, so we don’t know what it said.

IThese three verbs “fear,” “serve,” and “heed” also show up in only three other verses in scripture, notably Deut. 13:5; & Isa. 50:10.

JThis word first shows up in Num. 20 describing Moses’ failure to provide water from the rock the way God had told him to, then in Deut. 1 & 9 to describe the Israelites’ failure to enter the Promised Land when God told them to, following the report of the 12 spies.

KDelitzsch: “אַחַר הָיָה, to be after or behind a person, is good Hebrew, and is frequently met with, particularly in the sense of attaching one's self to the king, or holding to him (vid., 2Sam. 2:10; 1Ki. 12:20; 16:21-22). This meaning is also at the foundation of the present passage, as Jehovah was the God-king of Israel.

L The DSS has room for an additional word which could be to the effect of “that is faithfulness” or “you will be delivered.”

MThe only surviving letter of this word in the DSS is part of the plural suffix “your.” While it’s possible that the DSS originally read “fathers,” the spacing appears to support the slightly-shorter word “king,” which is found in the Greek and Old Latin versions long before the Hebrew Masoretic Text. Goldman, following Kimchi, interpreted “fathers” as “leaders and kings,” so maybe there is no practical difference in meaning. English versions that follow the MT (“fathers”) have to read the vav conjunction as though it were a coph comparative in order to make any sense of it. Tsumura, however, translated it “your household.”

N cf. v.7

O Aquilla = kenwn (empty) and Symmachus = mataiwn (worthless) are closer to the meaning of the Hebrew word.

P cf. NASB, NIV = “useless,” ESV = “empty”

Q cf. NASB = “benefit,” NIV = “do good”

RThis is the word translated “formless” in Gen 1:2 & Jer. 4:23, “wasteland/wilderness” in Deut. 32:10; Job 12:24, & Ps. 107:40; “empty space” in Job 6:18 & 26:7; “confusion/chaos” in Isa. 24:10; 41:29; and “vain/futile/useless/of no account” in Isa. 29:21; 34:11; 40:17, 23; 44:9; 45:18-19; 49:4, & 59:4.

S NASB = “abandon,” NIV = “reject”

TOver half the instances in the O.T. of this curse formula are in 1 Samuel. The last was 1 Samuel 2:30 “...I said that your household and the household of your forefather will conduct themselves before my face for time-out-of-mind, but now, this is the declaration of Yahweh, Far be it from me...”

UAlthough prayer had characterized his ministry up to this point, this is the last mention of Samuel praying.

V “in truth” is the literal translation but NIV & ESV turned it into an adverb “faithfully”

WLit. “be added.” Both LXX and Aquila (susurhsesqe = “flow together”) apparently read the Hebrew word תִּסָּפוּ as stemming from the root יסף (“adds”) rather than the root סףה (“swept away”), an understandable situation, seeing as both roots have weak letters which would typically disappear, leaving only -סף- in the final spelling. Symmachus corrected it in his 4th century AD Greek version to apoleisqe (“be destroyed” cf. Syriac), and Brenton corrected it in his English version to “consumed.”

X NASB, NIV, and ESV = “swept away”

8