1 Samuel 12:15
in 1 Samuel 12But if you disobey the LORD and rebel against His command, then the hand of the LORD will be against you as it was against your fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but if ye will not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah, but rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as it was against your fathers.
KJV
But if ye will not obey 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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseTo convince the people of their sin in desiring a king. They were now rejoicing before God in and with their king ( ch. xi. 15 ), and offering to God the sacrifices of praise, which they hoped God would accept; and this perhaps made them think that there was no harm in their asking a king, but really they had done well in it.
This site's exposition
Now here is the king you have chosen
on 1 Samuel 12:13-15
Samuel presents Saul as "the king you have chosen, the one you requested," then restates covenant terms older than the throne. If the people fear the LORD, both they and the king continue following Him, and if they rebel, the LORD’s hand turns against them as against their fathers. The king stands inside the covenant of Sinai, as Deuteronomy 17:14 to 20 required.
This site's exposition
the hand of the LORD will be against you
Israel had just rejoiced before the LORD at Gilgal in 11:15. Matthew Henry reads Samuel's warning as a check on that joy, lest the people think their request for a king had done no harm. The sign of verses 16 to 18 presses the same charge.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
8. But because he was speaking to the weak and carnal, he continued by declaring: "If you will not hear the voice of the Lord, but will provoke His word, the hand of the Lord will be upon you and upon your fathers." The hand of the Lord is the severity of divine vengeance. This hand is indeed stretched out over sons and fathers when, by the merit of divine contempt, both reprobate prelates and subjects are punished.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Then Adonoy's hand will be against you and against your forefathers. Meaning it will be against you after it was against your fathers. Our Rabbis however said, "against you and against your fathers" refers to the digging up of the dead, which is a disgrace upon the dead.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Then both you. You will live to a ripe old age, both you and the king.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמְעוּ֙ | tishmeu | you will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּק֣וֹל | bekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּמְרִיתֶ֖ם | umeritem | and you will rebel against | H4784 → | 45 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| פִּ֣י | pi | [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְהָיְתָ֧ה | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בָּכֶ֖ם | bakhem | on you | ||
| וּבַאֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ | uvaavoteikhem | and on ancestors your | H1 → | 1212 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמְעוּ֙you will listen
tishmeuH8085 →1159 times
בְּק֣וֹלto [the] voice of
bekolH6963 →506 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּמְרִיתֶ֖םand you will rebel against
umeritemH4784 →45 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
פִּ֣י[the] mouth of
piH6310 →498 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְהָיְתָ֧הand it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בָּכֶ֖םon you
bakhem
וּבַאֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃and on ancestors your
uvaavoteikhemH1 →1212 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
Isaiah 3:11Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 8:13
Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.
- James 2:13
For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Psalms 120:3–4
What will He do to you, and what will be added to you, O deceitful tongue?
- Psalms 28:4
Repay them according to their deeds and for their works of evil. Repay them for what their hands have done; bring back on them what they deserve.
- Psalms 62:12
and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
- Ecclesiastes 8:13
Through
Isaiah 1:20But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:12
I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil…
- Isaiah 58:14
then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of…
- Isaiah 65:12
Through
Joshua 24:20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:26–27
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Hebrews 10:26–27
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.