1 Samuel 12:20
in 1 Samuel 12“Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “Even though you have committed all this evil, do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, but serve Jehovah with all your heart:
KJV
And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;
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This verse in 1 Samuel 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseYe have done all this wickedness - That is, although ye have done all this wickedness: what was past God would pass by, provided they would be obedient in future.
This site's exposition
Do not be afraid
on 1 Samuel 12:20-21
Samuel answers a terrified people with "Do not be afraid" and a call to keep serving the LORD with all their heart, the king notwithstanding. The word for the "worthless things" of verse 21 shares its root with the formless waste of Genesis 1:2, so idols are named by a word for emptiness. The warning reaches past the request for a king to the older danger of Canaan’s gods.
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 Samuel said: Do not fear. You have done all this evil. Nevertheless, do not turn aside from following the Lord. And serve the Lord with all your heart." 11. The mind of the penitent is then rightly directed if it fears the divine judgments and trusts in the mercy of almighty God. Fear without hope indeed casts one headlong into despair, but when it is joined with hope, it works the salvation of the mind.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
): " Fear not; though you have done all this wickedness, and though God is angry with you for it, yet do not therefore abandon his service, nor turn from following him." Fear not, that is, "despair not, fear not with amazement, the weather will clear up after the storm.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand. 5 And he said unto them, The L ORD 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.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v4-5
), " Fear not with a slavish fear," but here, "Fear the Lord, with a filial fear." As the fruit and evidence of this, serve him in the duties of religious worship and of a godly conversation, in truth and sincerity, and not in show and profession only, with your heart, and with all your heart, not dissembling, not dividing.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Samuel said unto the people, fear not,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֤ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּירָ֔אוּ | tirau | you be afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אַתֶּ֣ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עֲשִׂיתֶ֔ם | ʾasitem | you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָרָעָ֖ה | haraah | the evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| הַזֹּ֑את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| אַ֗ךְ | ʾakh | nevertheless | H389 → | 161 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תָּס֙וּרוּ֙ | tasuru | you turn aside | H5493 → | 299 times |
| מֵאַחֲרֵ֣י | meacharei | from after | H310 → | 715 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֥ם | vaavadtem | and you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | with all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| לְבַבְכֶֽם׃ | levavkhem | heart your | H3824 → | 252 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֤לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּירָ֔אוּyou be afraid
tirauH3372 →315 times
אַתֶּ֣םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
עֲשִׂיתֶ֔םyou have done
ʾasitemH6213 →2628 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָרָעָ֖הthe evil
haraahH7451 →662 times
הַזֹּ֑את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
אַ֗ךְnevertheless
ʾakhH389 →161 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תָּס֙וּרוּ֙you turn aside
tasuruH5493 →299 times
מֵאַחֲרֵ֣יfrom after
meachareiH310 →715 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַעֲבַדְתֶּ֥םand you will serve
vaavadtemH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּכָל־with all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
לְבַבְכֶֽם׃heart your
levavkhemH3824 →252 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
Psalms 101:3I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
it leads to
- Psalms 119:37
Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.
- Job 31:1
“I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze with desire at a virgin?
- James 1:13–15
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
- 2 Samuel 11:2–3
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
- Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
- Psalms 119:37
Through
Psalms 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
it leads to
- Isaiah 59:8
The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
- Proverbs 2:15
whose paths are crooked and whose ways are devious.
- Isaiah 59:8
Through
Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her…
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.