World English Bible · The united kingdom
1 Samuel 12
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said to all Israel, "Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. Now, behold, the king walks before you. I am old and gray-headed. Behold, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my youth to this day. Here I am. against me before and before his . Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you." They said, "You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything from anyone's hand." He said to them, " is against you, and his is today, that you have not found anything in my hand." They said, "He is ." said to the people, "It is who appointed and , and that brought your fathers up out of the land of . Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before concerning all acts of , which he did to you and to your fathers. "When had come into , and your fathers cried to , then sent and , who brought your fathers out of , and made them to in this place. But they forgot their ; and he sold them into the hand of , captain of the army of , and into the hand of the , and into the hand of the king of ; and they fought against them. They cried to , and said, 'We have , because we have forsaken and have and the ; but now us out of the hand of our , and we will you.' sent , Bedan, , and , and you out of the hand of your on every side; and you lived in safety. "When you saw that the king of came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when your was your king. Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen and whom you have asked for. Behold, has set a king over you. If you will , and him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the of , then both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of your . But if you will not listen to voice, but rebel against the of , then hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. "Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which will do before your eyes. Isn't it wheat harvest today? I will call to , that he may send thunder and ; and you will know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in sight, in asking for a king." So called to , and sent thunder and that day. Then all the people greatly feared and . All the people said to , " for your servants to your , that we not ; for we have added to all our this evil, to ask for a king." said to the people, "Don't be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don't turn away from following , but with all . Don't turn away to go after things which can't profit or , for they are . For will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it has pleased to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should against in ceasing to for you; but I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only , and him in truth with all ; for consider what great things he has done for you. But if you keep doing evil, you will be consumed, both you and your king."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The united kingdom, 1050 BC to 931 BC ›
Saul, David, and Solomon. A rare window when both Egypt and Mesopotamia are weak, which is how a small kingdom in the corridor between them could briefly become a regional power.
- The power vacuum
- This is the whole political explanation for the united kingdom. Egypt is fragmented, Assyria is recovering but still local, the Hittites are gone, and nobody is in a position to object to a strong state in the corridor. It lasts about a century, and Israel's golden age fits exactly inside it.
- Phoenicia
- Tyre under Hiram is the commercial power of the coast, and supplies the cedar, the craftsmen, and the shipping for Solomon's building programme. The alliance is trade, not charity: Israel had grain and a land route, Tyre had timber and ships.
- Egypt
- Weak enough that a pharaoh gives a daughter in marriage to an Israelite king, which is the opposite of Egyptian practice in stronger centuries. Late in the era it recovers under a new house, and Shishak will invade within five years of Solomon's death.
- Further afield
- Greece is still in its dark age but beginning to recover, and will adopt the Phoenician alphabet within a century or two. Carthage is founded by settlers from Tyre by tradition in 814 BC. In the Americas the Olmec centre shifts to La Venta.