1 Samuel 12:5
in 1 Samuel 12Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is witness.
KJV
And he said unto them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 12
Commentary
2 notes on this verseon 1 Samuel 12:3-5
In this way, too, Samuel, who judged the people so many years, and bore rule over Israel without any pride, in the end cleared himself, saying, "I have walked before you from my childhood even unto this day: answer me in the sight of God, and before His anointed; whose ox or whose ass of yours have I taken, or over whom have I tyrannized, or whom have I oppressed? or if I have received from the hand of any a bribe or [so much as] a shoe, speak out against me, and I will restore it to you."
This site's exposition
Thou hast not defrauded us
on 1 Samuel 12:4-5
The people's answer, Thou hast not defrauded us, closes the case Samuel opened, and he seals it by calling his anointed a second witness alongside the Lord himself. The title anointed had entered Scripture only at 2:10 in Hannah's song and again at 2:35; here Samuel, the man who anointed Saul at 10:1, treats the office as sacred enough to stand as a legal witness beside God. The exchange reads as a formal lawsuit, the people twice answering He is witness, before Samuel turns from his own record to the nation's.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֵ֧ד | ʾed | [is] a witness | H5707 → | 70 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּכֶ֗ם | bakhem | on <the> you | ||
| וְעֵ֤ד | veed | and [is] a witness | H5707 → | 70 times |
| מְשִׁיחוֹ֙ | meshicho | anointed his | H4899 → | 39 times |
| הַיּ֣וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֧א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְצָאתֶ֛ם | metzatem | you have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בְּיָדִ֖י | beyadi | in hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מְא֑וּמָה | meumah | anything | H3972 → | 32 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and someone said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עֵֽד׃ פ | ʾed | [he is] a witness | H5707 → | 70 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֜םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
עֵ֧ד[is] a witness
ʾedH5707 →70 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּכֶ֗םon <the> you
bakhem
וְעֵ֤דand [is] a witness
veedH5707 →70 times
מְשִׁיחוֹ֙anointed his
meshichoH4899 →39 times
הַיּ֣וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֧אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מְצָאתֶ֛םyou have found
metzatemH4672 →455 times
בְּיָדִ֖יin hand my
beyadiH3027 →1618 times
מְא֑וּמָהanything
meumahH3972 →32 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand someone said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
עֵֽד׃ פ[he is] a witness
ʾedH5707 →70 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.
it leads to
- Psalms 143:2
Do not bring Your servant into judgment, for no one alive is righteous before You.
- 1 John 3:20–21
Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things.
- Psalms 130:3
If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand?
- Psalms 19:12
Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
- Proverbs 21:2
All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
- Psalms 143:2
Through
2 Corinthians 1:12And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom,…
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:13
And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- James 3:13–18
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
- 1 Corinthians 2:13
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Irenaeus, AGAINST HERESIES 4.26.4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).