Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have asked for. Behold, Yahweh has set a king over you.
- KJV Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD hath set a king over you.
- NKJV “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the Lord has set a king over you.
- NASB And now, behold, the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has put a king over you.
- NLT All right, here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the Lord has granted your request.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Samuel presents the king Israel chose, whom the Lord has now set over them. God grants their request despite its sinful root.
Overview
The Lord 'has set a king over you' shows that even Israel's flawed demand is taken up into His sovereign plan. Saul is both the people's choice and God's appointment. This tension prepares the way for the line of kings through which God will ultimately bring David and, in time, the true and righteous King, Jesus Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Hos 13:11So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.
- 1 Sam 10:24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
- 1 Sam 8:5“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
- 1 Sam 9:20As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”
- 1 Sam 11:15So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
- Ps 78:29–31So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
- Acts 13:21Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 12:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.