1 Samuel 12:2
in 1 Samuel 12Now here is the king walking before you, and I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from my youth until this day.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And now, behold, the king walketh before you; and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth unto this day.
KJV
And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 12
Commentary
10 notes on this verseMy sons are with you - It is generally agreed that these words intimate that Samuel had deprived them of their public employ, and reduced them to a level with the common people. Have walked before you from my childhood - He had been a long, steady, and immaculate servant of the public.
This site's exposition
I have listened to your voice in all that you have said to me
on 1 Samuel 12:1-2
Samuel opens with "I have listened to your voice in all that you have said to me," stating that he did what the people asked. He sets his sons beside him without comment, the complaint that began the request at 8:1 to 5. The words "from my youth until this day" put a whole life on trial.
This site's exposition
my sons are here with you
John Wesley and Adam Clarke both read the sons as private men now, removed from the office they had abused at 8:3. Wesley adds that any man they had wronged could now bring his charge before the king. Samuel asks the people no favor for his sons.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
We have innocence of life for ourselves, but we ascend the height of prelacy for others, not for ourselves. Through the good of innocence we press toward the eternal homeland; through the height of prelacy we keep watch in the guardianship of others. In that virtue we are secure, but this eminence we hold with great fear: because we who greatly tremble to render an account of our own works must render an account to God for that over which we preside over others.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
My sons - Or, among you, in the same states private persons, as you are; if they have injured any of you, the law is now open against them; any of you may accuse them, your king can punish them, I do not intercede for them. Walked before you - That is, been your guide and governor; partly, as a prophet; and partly, as a judge.
1 ), from my childhood unto this day. " As soon as he was illuminated with the light of prophecy, in his early days, he began to be a burning and shining light to Israel; "and now my best days are done: I am old and gray-headed; " therefore they were the more unkind to cast him off, yet therefore he was the more willing to resign, finding the weight of government heavy upon his stooping shoulders.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
); he appears in public, ready to serve you in public business. Now that you have made yourselves like the nations in your civil government, and have cast off the divine administration in that, take heed lest you make yourselves like the nations in religion and cast off the worship of God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And now, behold, the king walketh before you,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Samuel said unto all Israel--This public address was made after the solemn re-instalment of Saul, and before the convention at Gilgal separated. Samuel, having challenged a review of his public life, received a unanimous testimony to the unsullied honor of his personal character, as well as the justice and integrity of his public administration.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
My sons are with you - Possibly, however, a tinge of mortified feeling at the rejection of himself and his family, mixed with a desire to recommend his sons to the favor and goodwill of the nation, is at the bottom of this mention of them.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֞ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| הִנֵּ֥ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ׀ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִתְהַלֵּ֣ךְ | mithalekh | [is] walking about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִפְנֵיכֶ֗ם | lifneikhem | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַאֲנִי֙ | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| זָקַ֣נְתִּי | zakanti | I am old | H2204 → | 27 times |
| וָשַׂ֔בְתִּי | vasavti | and I am gray haired | H7867 → | |
| וּבָנַ֖י | uvanai | and sons my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הִנָּ֣ם | hinam | here they | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אִתְּכֶ֑ם | ʾitekhem | [are] with you | H854 → | 929 times |
| וַאֲנִי֙ | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּי | hithalakhti | I have walked about | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם | lifneikhem | <to> before you | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִנְּעֻרַ֖י | mineurai | since youth<s> my | H5271 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וְעַתָּ֞הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
הִנֵּ֥הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ׀the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
מִתְהַלֵּ֣ךְ[is] walking about
mithalekhH1980 →1546 times
לִפְנֵיכֶ֗ם<to> before you
lifneikhemH6440 →2123 times
וַאֲנִי֙and I
vaaniH589 →874 times
זָקַ֣נְתִּיI am old
zakantiH2204 →27 times
וָשַׂ֔בְתִּיand I am gray haired
vasavtiH7867 →
וּבָנַ֖יand sons my
uvanaiH1121 →4930 times
הִנָּ֣םhere they
hinamH2009 →843 times
אִתְּכֶ֑ם[are] with you
ʾitekhemH854 →929 times
וַאֲנִי֙and I
vaaniH589 →874 times
הִתְהַלַּ֣כְתִּיI have walked about
hithalakhtiH1980 →1546 times
לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם<to> before you
lifneikhemH6440 →2123 times
מִנְּעֻרַ֖יsince youth<s> my
mineuraiH5271 →
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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 Samuel 8:3But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- Psalms 15:5
who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
- 1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
- Exodus 23:8
Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.
- Exodus 18:21
Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- Deuteronomy 16:19
Through
Numbers 27:17who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:5
They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
- Ezekiel 34:5
Through
1 Samuel 8:1When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:18–19
You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Deuteronomy 16:18–19
Through
1 Samuel 8:5“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:14–15
When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like…
- Deuteronomy 17:14–15
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).