Ang Pamilin-bilin ni Samuel
1Miingon si Samuel sa tanang Israelinhon, “Gituman ko ang gipangayo ninyo kanako; gihatagan ko kamo ug hari nga modumala kaninyo. 2Karon may hari na kamo isip inyong pangulo. Sa akong kabahin, nahimo ako ninyong pangulo sukad sa batan-on pa ako hangtod karon. Apan tigulang na ako ug ubanon na, ug ang akong mga anak dagko na, ug kauban mismo ninyo. 3Karon, ania ako sa inyong atubangan. Kon may nahimo akong daotan, sultihi ninyo ako diha sa presensya sa Ginoo ug sa hari nga iyang gipili. May gikuha ba akong baka o asno gikan ni bisan kinsa kaninyo? May gilimbongan ba ako o gidaog-daog kaninyo? Midawat ba ako ug suborno ug nagpakanaog ug hukom nga dili makatarunganon? Kon mapamatud-an ninyo nga nahimo ko ang bisan usa niini, bayran ko kini.”
4Miingon ang mga tawo, “Wala mo kami limbongi o daog-daoga. Wala ka usay gikuha gikan ni bisan kinsa kanamo.” 5Miingon si Samuel kanila, “Niining adlawa saksi ang Ginoo ug ang hari nga iyang gipili nga wala kamoy ikaakusar batok kanako.” Mitubag ang mga tawo, “Oo, saksi ang Ginoo.” 6Unya miingon si Samuel, “Ang Ginoo mao ang nagpili kang Moises ug kang Aaron nga mahimong pangulo sa inyong mga katigulangan, ug siya ang nagpagawas kanila gikan sa Ehipto. 7Karon, pabilin kamo sa pagtindog sa presensya sa Ginoo, samtang ipahinumdom ko kaninyo ang mga kaayohan nga gihimo sa Ginoo kaninyo ug sa inyong mga katigulangan.
8“Sa dihang didto ang mga kaliwat ni Jacob sa Ehipto, nangayo sila ug tabang gikan sa Ginoo. Ug gipadala sa Ginoo si Moises ug si Aaron nga mao ang nagpagawas kanila gikan sa Ehipto ug nagdala kanila dinhi niini nga yuta. 9Apan gikalimtan nila ang Ginoo nga ilang Dios, busa gipapildi sila sa Ginoo kang Sisera, ang komander sa mga sundalo sa Hazor, ug sa mga Filistihanon ug sa hari sa Moab. 10Nangayo sila ug tabang sa Ginoo ug miingon, ‘Nakasala kami, Ginoo. Gisalikway ka namo, ug among gisimba ang mga imahen ni Baal ug ni Ashtarot. Apan karon, luwasa kami gikan sa among mga kaaway, ug simbahon ka namo.’ 11Unya gipadala sa Ginoo si Jerubaal, si Barak, si Jefta, ug ako, ug giluwas namo kamo gikan sa inyong mga kaaway sa palibot. Ug nagkinabuhi kamo nga luwas sa katalagman. 12Apan sa dihang nakita ninyo nga misulong kaninyo si Nahash nga hari sa mga Amonihanon, nangayo kamo kanako ug hari nga modumala kaninyo, bisan pa ug ang Ginoo nga inyong Dios mao ang inyong hari. 13Karon, ania na ang hari nga inyong gipili. Gipangayo ninyo siya, ug gihatag siya sa Ginoo kaninyo. 14Walay daotang mahitabo kaninyo kon kamo ug ang inyong hari motahod ug moalagad sa Ginoo nga inyong Dios ug mosunod sa iyang mga sugo. 15Apan kon dili kamo mosunod sa Ginoo, ug dili motuman sa iyang mga sugo, silotan niya kamo, sama sa gihimo niya sa inyong mga katigulangan.
16“Karon, ayaw kamo pagbiya. Tan-awa ninyo ang katingalahang butang nga himuon sa Ginoo diha sa inyong atubangan. 17Dili ba nga panahon karon sa ting-ani sa trigo ug wala nagaulan? Apan mag-ampo ako sa Ginoo nga padalogdogon ug paulanon niya. Unya makaamgo kamo kon unsa kadaotan ang inyong gihimo atubangan sa Ginoo sa dihang nangayo kamo kaniya ug hari.”
18Busa nagaampo si Samuel sa Ginoo, ug niana mismo nga adlaw, gipadalogdog ug gipaulan sa Ginoo. Nahadlok ang tanang mga tawo sa Ginoo ug kang Samuel. 19Miingon sila kang Samuel, “Iampo sa Ginoo nga imong Dios nga dili kami mangamatay, kay gidugangan namo ang among mga sala pinaagi sa pagpangayo ug hari.” 20Mitubag si Samuel, “Ayaw kamo kahadlok. Bisan pag nakahimo kamo niining daotang butang, ayaw kamo pagtalikod sa Ginoo. Alagari hinuon ninyo siya sa tibuok ninyong kasingkasing. 21Ayaw kamo pag-alagad sa mga walay pulos nga mga dios-dios. Dili sila makatabang o makaluwas kaninyo. 22Dili gayod kamo isalikway sa Ginoo, kay dili siya buot nga maulawan ang iyang ngalan. Nalipay kaayo ang Ginoo sa paghimo kaninyo nga iyang katawhan.
23“Sa akong kabahin, nagaampo gayod ako kanunay sa Ginoo alang kaninyo, kay kon dili ko kini himuon, makasala ako sa Ginoo. Ug tudloan ko kamo sa pagkinabuhi nga maayo ug husto. 24Apan siguroha gayod ninyo nga motahod kamo sa Ginoo ug matinud-anon nga moalagad kaniya sa tibuok ninyong kasingkasing. Hinumdomi ninyo ang katingalahang mga butang nga iyang gihimo alang kaninyo. 25Apan kon magpadayon kamo sa pagpakasala, kamo ug ang inyong hari pagalaglagon.”
Samuel’s Final Speech to Israel
1Samuel spoke to all the Israelites. He said, “I’ve done everything you asked me to do. I’ve placed a king over you. 2Now you have a king as your leader. But I’m old. My hair is gray. My sons are here with you. I’ve been your leader from the time I was young until this day. 3Here I stand. Bring charges against me if you can. The Lord is a witness. And so is his anointed king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I cheated anyone? Have I treated anyone badly? Have I accepted money from anyone who wanted special favors? If I’ve done any of these things, I’ll make it right.”
4“You haven’t cheated us,” they replied. “You haven’t treated us badly. You haven’t taken anything from anyone.”
5Samuel said to them, “The Lord is a witness against you this day. And so is his anointed king. They are witnesses that I haven’t taken anything from any of you.”
“The Lord is a witness,” they said.
6Then Samuel said to the people, “The Lord appointed Moses and Aaron. He brought out of Egypt your people who lived long ago. 7Now then, stand here. I’m going to remind you of all the good things the Lord has done for you and your people. He is a witness.
8“After Jacob’s family entered Egypt, they cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your people out of Egypt. They had them make their homes in this land.
9“But the people forgot the Lord their God. So he put them under the control of Sisera. Sisera was the commander of the army of Hazor. The Lord also put the Israelites under the control of the Philistines and the king of Moab. All those nations fought against Israel. 10So the people cried out to the Lord. They said, ‘We have sinned. We’ve deserted the Lord. We’ve served gods that are named Baal. We’ve served female gods that are named Ashtoreth. But save us now from the power of our enemies. Then we will serve you.’ 11The Lord sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and me. He saved you from the power of your enemies who were all around you. So you lived in safety.
12“But then you saw that Nahash, the king of Ammon, was about to attack you. So you said to me, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us.’ You said it even though the Lord your God was your king. 13Now here is the king you have chosen. He’s the one you asked for. The Lord has placed a king over you. 14But you must have respect for the Lord. You must serve him and obey him. You must not say no to his commands. Both you and the king who rules over you must obey the Lord your God. If you do, that’s good. 15But you must not disobey him. You must not say no to his commands. If you do, his power will be against you. That’s what happened to your people who lived before you.
16“So stand still. Watch the great thing the Lord is about to do right here in front of you! 17It’s time to gather in the wheat, isn’t it? I’ll call out to the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what an evil thing you did in the sight of the Lord. You shouldn’t have asked for a king.”
18Samuel called out to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people had great respect for the Lord and for Samuel.
19They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us. Pray that we won’t die because we asked for a king. That was an evil thing to do. We added it to all our other sins.”
20“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel replied. “It’s true that you have done all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve him with all your heart. 21Don’t turn away and worship statues of gods. They are useless. They can’t do you any good. They can’t save you either. They are completely useless. 22But the Lord will be true to his great name. He won’t turn his back on his people. That’s because he was pleased to make you his own people. 23I would never sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I’ll teach you to live in a way that is good and right. 24But be sure to have respect for the Lord. Serve him faithfully. Do it with all your heart. Think about the great things he has done for you. 25But don’t be stubborn. Don’t continue to do what is evil. If you do, both you and your king will be destroyed.”
