Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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;
- BSB “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “Even though you have committed all this evil, do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.
- NKJV Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
- NASB Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.
- NLT “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them. “You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him.
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 tells them not to fear, but, despite their sin, to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. He calls them from despair to renewed devotion.
Overview
Samuel does not minimize their sin yet refuses to leave them in hopelessness. The path forward is not abandoning the Lord but turning to serve Him fully from the heart. This pastoral word balances honest conviction of sin with the call to faithful obedience and hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 11:16Be careful, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
- Ps 101:3I will set no vile thing before my eyes. I hate the deeds of faithless men. They will not cling to me.
- Ps 125:5But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, Yahweh will lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be on Israel.
- Josh 23:6“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left;
- Jer 3:1“They say, ‘If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man’s, should he return to her again?’ Wouldn’t that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the prostitute with many lovers; yet return again to me,” says Yahweh.
- Exod 20:19–20They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
- Deut 31:29For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will happen to you in the latter days; because you will do that which is evil in Yahweh’s sight, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”
- 1 Pet 3:16having a good conscience; that, while you are spoken against as evildoers, they may be disappointed who curse your good way of life in Christ.
- Ps 40:4Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust, and doesn’t respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 12:20 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.