Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.
Parallel translations
- WEB Only fear Yahweh, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.
- BSB Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.
- NKJV Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
- NASB Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
- NLT But be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you.
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
He urges them to fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all their heart, remembering His great deeds. Gratitude should fuel wholehearted obedience.
Overview
Samuel sums up Israel's duty as sincere, heartfelt reverence and service. Recalling 'what great things he has done' grounds obedience in grateful response to God's grace. This call to wholehearted devotion remains the abiding pattern of faithful life before the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Deut 10:21He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
- Prov 1:7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
- Ps 126:2–3Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
- Heb 12:29For our God is a consuming fire.
- Isa 5:12And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
- Eccl 12:13Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
- Ps 111:10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
- Ps 119:80Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed.
- Exod 12:13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
- Job 28:28And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
- Rom 12:1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
- John 1:47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
- Ezra 9:13–14And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 12:24 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.