1 Samuel 12:22
in 1 Samuel 12Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For Jehovah will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it hath pleased Jehovah to make you a people unto himself.
KJV
For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe Lord will not forsake his people - He will not as yet cast you off, though you have deserved it. His purpose in preserving them in their land and religion was not yet accomplished. It was not however for their sake that he would not cast them off, but for his own great name’s sake. He drew his reasons from himself.
This site's exposition
for the sake of His great name
Israel is not cast off "for the sake of His great name," and no merit survives the request that brought the thunder. The words "He was pleased to make you His own" rest the nation’s standing on God’s prior choice. Moses argued the same ground at Sinai, appealing to the LORD’s reputation among the nations rather than to Israel’s record.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 2 · Written before 604.
proposed
But the fruit by which vain things are despised is suggested when it is added: "And the Lord will not forsake his people for the sake of his great name, because the Lord has sworn to make them a people for himself." 14. These vain things inflict a great evil upon those who turn aside after them: because while they pursue earthly things in a disordered way, they are abandoned by the supreme and omnipotent God to endure future torments.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And this reason God alledgeth to take them off from all conceit of their own merit; and to assure them, that if they did truly repent of all their sins, and serve God with all their heart; yet even in that case their salvation would not be due to their merits; but the effect of God's free mercy.
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
) for his great name's sake; do not you forsake him then." Every transgression in the covenant, though it displease the Lord, yet does not throw us out of covenant, and therefore God's just rebukes must not drive us from our hope in his mercy.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name's sake.
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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֠י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִטֹּ֤שׁ | yitosh | he will abandon | H5203 → | 40 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמּ֔וֹ | amo | people his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| בַּעֲב֖וּר | baavur | forsake of | H5668 → | 49 times |
| שְׁמ֣וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הַגָּד֑וֹל | hagadol | <the> great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הוֹאִ֣יל | hoil | he was determined | H2974 → | |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת | laasot | to make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֛ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | for <the> himself | ||
| לְעָֽם׃ | leam | into a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
כִּ֠יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִטֹּ֤שׁhe will abandon
yitoshH5203 →40 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמּ֔וֹpeople his
amoH5971 →1873 times
בַּעֲב֖וּרforsake of
baavurH5668 →49 times
שְׁמ֣וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
הַגָּד֑וֹל<the> great
hagadolH1419 →526 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הוֹאִ֣ילhe was determined
hoilH2974 →
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַעֲשׂ֥וֹתto make
laasotH6213 →2628 times
אֶתְכֶ֛ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
ל֖וֹfor <the> himself
lo
לְעָֽם׃into a people
leamH5971 →1873 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
Philippians 1:6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Ephesians 4:12
to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
- Hebrews 13:20–21
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
- Psalms 138:8
The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me. O LORD, Your loving devotion endures forever— do not abandon the works of Your hands.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24
Through
Deuteronomy 14:2for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
- Leviticus 20:26
You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 7:6
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.