Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said and have set a king over you.
Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until this day.
Here I stand. Testify against me before the LORD and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to close my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right."
The people replied, "You have not cheated or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from anyone."
Samuel said, "The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." They answered, "He is witness."
Then Samuel said, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. Now stand here, for I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD about all the righteous acts he has done for you and your ancestors.
After Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your ancestors out and settled them in this place. But they forgot the LORD their God, so he sold them into the hands of Sisera, the commander of Hazor, and into the hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them.
They cried out to the LORD, saying, 'We have sinned; we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from our enemies, and we will serve you.'
Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived in safety.
But when you saw that Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we want a king to rule over us,' even though the LORD your God was your king.
Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you.
If you fear the LORD, serve and obey him, and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king follow the LORD your God—good!
But if you do not obey the LORD and rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors.
Now stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes! Is it not wheat harvest? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, and you will realize what an evil thing you did in the LORD's sight when you asked for a king."
Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. All the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.
The people said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for us, so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."
"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve him with all your heart. Do not follow useless idols, for they cannot help or save you.
For the sake of his great name, the LORD will not reject his people, because he was pleased to make you his own. As for me, I will never sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. I will teach you the way that is good and right.
But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart, and consider what great things he has done for you. Yet if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."