1 Samuel 12:19
in 1 Samuel 12They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 12
Commentary
9 notes on this versePray for thy servants - that we die not - As they knew they had rebelled against God, they saw that they had every thing to fear from his justice and power. We have added unto all our sins this evil - It is no sin to have a king; a good king is one of the greatest blessings of God’s providence; but it is a sin to put a man in the place of God. Is it not strange that they did not now attempt to repair their fault?
This site's exposition
stand and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes
on 1 Samuel 12:16-19
Wheat harvest falls in the dry season, when rain almost never comes, so Samuel’s call for thunder and rain names a sign the calendar makes unlikely. The storm comes that day, and the people confess "the evil of asking for a king" as a sin added to all their sins. The sign marks the request as sin without withdrawing the king God had granted through it.
This site's exposition
the evil of asking for a king
Adam Clarke finds the evil in the people putting a man in the place of God. A king as such was allowed at Deuteronomy 17:14 and 15. The confession answers the LORD's words to Samuel at 8:7, that the people had rejected Him as their king.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
And it is well added subsequently: "Samuel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain on that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. And all the people said to Samuel: Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die. For we have added to all our sins this evil, that we should ask for ourselves a king."
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Samuel did not extort this confession from them till the matter was settled and the king confirmed, lest it should look as if he designed by it rather to establish himself in the government than to bring them to repentance. Now that they were flattering themselves in their own eyes, their iniquity was found to be hateful, Ps. xxxvi. (3.) They earnestly begged Samuel's prayers (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And all the people said unto Samuel, During the tempest, and in the midst of it; it was the general cry of the people, they were unanimous in it: pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not; though they had rejected him as their judge and supreme governor in desiring a king, now they were his humble servants, at least feignedly; and knowing what interest he had with God in prayer, they entreat him to make use of it on their behalf, who having sinned so greatly, had not the assurance to call the Lord their God, though they had no doubt of his being the God of Samuel, whose prayers he had heard, of which this tempest was a full proof; and was so violent, that if it continued, they were afraid they should be destroyed by the thunder and lightning, or they and their cattle, with the fruits of the earth, be washed away with the prodigious rain: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king; though Samuel had laid before them the evils and inconveniences of having a king, and had in the name of the Lord charged them with rejecting God as their king; yet nothing convinced them of their evil till this storm came, and then all their sins came fresh to their minds; and this added to the weight of them, and lay heaviest on them, that they had rejected the Lord, and slighted his prophets, and, notwithstanding all remonstrances, resolved on having a king.
And the time may come when those that have despised and ridiculed praying people will value their prayers, and desire a share in them. " Pray " (say they) " to the Lord thy God; we know not how to call him ours, but, if thou hast any interest in him, improve it for us." II.
(1.) They asked it of him as a favour; he promised it as a duty, and startles at the thought of neglecting it. Pray for you! says he, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in not doing it. Note, It is a sin against God not to pray for the Israel of God, especially for those of them that are under our charge: and good men are afraid of the guilt of omissions.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Is it not wheat harvest to-day?--That season in Palestine occurs at the end of June or beginning of July, when it seldom or never rains, and the sky is serene and cloudless.
The words behind it
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֜ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| הִתְפַּלֵּ֧ל | hitpalel | pray | H6419 → | 84 times |
| בְּעַד־ | bead- | for | H1157 → | 105 times |
| עֲבָדֶ֛יךָ | ʾavadeikha | servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְאַל־ | veal- | and may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| נָמ֑וּת | namut | we die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָסַ֤פְנוּ | yasafnu | we have added | H3254 → | 212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חַטֹּאתֵ֙ינוּ֙ | chatoteinu | sins our | H2403 → | 295 times |
| רָעָ֔ה | raah | an evil thing | H7451 → | 662 times |
| לִשְׁאֹ֥ל | lishol | by asking | H7592 → | 171 times |
| לָ֖נוּ | lanu | for <the> ourselves | ||
| מֶֽלֶךְ׃ ס | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֜םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֗לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
הִתְפַּלֵּ֧לpray
hitpalelH6419 →84 times
בְּעַד־for
bead-H1157 →105 times
עֲבָדֶ֛יךָservants your
ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
וְאַל־and may not
veal-H408 →724 times
נָמ֑וּתwe die
namutH4191 →839 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָסַ֤פְנוּwe have added
yasafnuH3254 →212 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חַטֹּאתֵ֙ינוּ֙sins our
chatoteinuH2403 →295 times
רָעָ֔הan evil thing
raahH7451 →662 times
לִשְׁאֹ֥לby asking
lisholH7592 →171 times
לָ֖נוּfor <the> ourselves
lanu
מֶֽלֶךְ׃ סa king
melekhH4428 →2525 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 John 5:16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There is a sin that leads…
it leads to
- Hebrews 6:4–6
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- 1 Samuel 2:25
If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since…
- Jeremiah 11:14
As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me in…
- Hebrews 10:26–31
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Mark 3:28–30
Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.
- Hebrews 6:4–6
Through
1 Samuel 12:23As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:9
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and…
- Romans 1:9
God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- 2 Timothy 1:3
I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.
- Colossians 1:9
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.