“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.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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.
- 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;
- 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 11:16But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
- Ps 101:3I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.
- Ps 125:5But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.
- Josh 23:6Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left.
- Jer 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.
- Exod 20:19–20“Speak to us yourself and we will listen,” they said to Moses. “But do not let God speak to us, or we will die.”
- Deut 31:29For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”
- 1 Pet 3:16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ.
- Ps 40:4Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
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.