1 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.
2 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.
3 Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
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 Lord 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.
6 And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8 When Jacob was come into Egypt, and your fathers cried unto the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, which brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place.
9 And when they forgat the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
10 And they cried unto the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee.
11 And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe.
12 And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king.
13 Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you.
14 If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God:
15 But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes.
17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking you a king.
18 So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.
19 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.
20 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;
21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
22 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.
23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
24 Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
<html><b>I have aged and become gray.</b> Our Rabbis said that he aged prematurely, as stated in Maseches Ta'anis.1<i class=“footnote”> 5b.</i></html>
<html><b>Whose ox have I taken?</b> For my work. <b>Whose donkey have I taken?</b> When I used to travel from city to city to judge them concerning their matters, I used to travel on my donkey, although I should have taken theirs.2<i class=“footnote”> See Bamidbar Rabbah 18:10. And when I brought a sacrifice for their sake, I should have taken their ox. Shmuel took this extra precaution because he witnessed how severely Eili’s sons were punished for having abused the privileges of their office. He therefore avoided any action that could be misconstrued as resembling their behavior.</i>3<i class=“footnote”> Devarim 28:33.</i> <b>Whom have I oppressed?</b> Every expression of <span>מְרַצֶּה</span> which follows <span>עשֶׁק</span> [robbery], is an expression of “robbed and oppressed,4<i class=“footnote”> 23b. The other two places in which the holy spirit entered the earthly court are in the court of Sheim and in the court of Shlomo.</i> one who robs the poor and oppresses them. <b>To look away from him.</b> In order to hide my eyes from the judgment because of the money [bribe]. <b>And I will give it back to you.</b> Whatever you will say.</html>
<html><b>And they said [as one], “Witnessed.”</b> A heavenly voice came out and said, '[I am] a witness.' This is one of three places in which the holy spirit entered the earthly court, as it is stated in Maseches Makos.5<i class=“footnote”> 23b.</i></html>
<html><b>Who produced Moshe and Aharon.</b> To be prepared for His mission to bring your forefathers out of Egypt.</html>
<html><b>And I shall enter into judgment.</b> I.e., I shall debate with you.</html>
<html><b></b><span>יְרֻבַּעַל</span>. This is Gideon.6<i class=“footnote”> Shoftim 6:32. See Maseches Rosh Hashanah 25a.</i> <b>Bedan.</b> This is Shimshon who came from the tribe of Don.7<i class=“footnote”><span>בְּדָן</span>=“in Don” or <span>בֶּן דָן=בְּדָן</span> meaning “a member of Don’s tribe.”</i> <b>And Yiphtoch.</b> Here are three insignificant leaders with three world-important leaders: Moshe, Aharon and Shmuel, to teach you that the insignificant leader in his generation is equal to the important leader in his generation. Every court which is appointed over the generation, must be followed as though its [members] were the mightiest of the nobility.8<i class=“footnote”>Ibid., 25b. Shmuel indicated to the people that every generation must regard its sages and leaders with the same respect they would give to Moshe, Aharon or Shmuel. Therefore, Yiphtoch in his generation was equal to Moshe in his generation. See Rashi in Devarim 19:17.</i></html>
<html><b>Then both you.</b> You will live to a ripe old age, both you and the king.</html>
<html><b>Then Adonoy's hand will be against you and against your forefathers.</b> Meaning it will be against you after it was against your fathers. Our Rabbis however said, “against you and against your fathers” refers to the digging up of the dead, which is a disgrace upon the dead.9<i class=“footnote”> Maseches Yevamos 63b. When people sin, the past generations are also punished by having their grave sites disturbed.—Radak</i></html>
<html><b>Stand up and see…</b> And just as through my prayer, I am able to change the seasons, similarly, if a war befell you, my prayer would have the power to protect you against the enemy, and you had no need to ask for a king during my lifetime,10<i class=“footnote”> Shmuel demonstrated to the nation how unnecessary their request for a king was. Just as ‘<span>ה</span> responded immediately to Shmuel’s prayers for rain, so too would ‘<span>ה</span> answer his prayers to save the Bnei Yisroel from their enemies.</i> even though I am old.</html>
<html><b>Is today not the [season of the] wheat harvest?</b> And rain is a sign of a curse,11<i class=“footnote”> Maseches Ta’anis 12b.</i> and the Holy One, Blessed is He, is reluctant to visit punishment unnecessarily. Nonetheless, I have power, and I shall call to '<span>ה</span>, and He will make it thunder and rain. <b>Then you will know and see.</b> That it was unnecessary for you to ask for a king and to show disrespect towards me.</html>
<html><b>For the sake of His great Name.</b> For His fame has spread because of you, that He is your savior, and lest the fame of His greatness be lessened.12<i class=“footnote”> This ==== Verse indicates that ‘<span>ה</span> will not abandon the Bnei Yisroel because of the lack of their own merits, in order to uphold His own Name.—Radak</i> <b>Adonoy has sworn.</b><span>הוֹאִיל</span> meaning he swore, as in, “And Shaul made the people swear <span>]</span><span>וַיֹאֶל</span><span>[</span>.”13<i class=“footnote”> Below 14:24.</i></html>
<html><b>And as for me, far be it from me.</b> Since you will do your part by returning to '<span>ה</span>, I also, far be it from me to stop praying on your behalf.14<i class=“footnote”> From this verse, the Gemara in Maseches Berachos 12b, derives, that if a person knows that his prayers will be answered if he prays for mercy for his fellow but refrains from doing so, he is considered to have sinned.</i></html>