1. Then Samuel said to all of Israel: "Behold, I have listened to your voice, according to all that you have said to me, and I have appointed a king over you.
2. And now the king advances before you. But I am old and have gray hair. Moreover, my sons are with you. And so, having conversed before you from my youth, even until this day, behold, I am here.
3. Speak about me before the Lord, and before his Christ, as to whether I have taken anyone's ox or donkey, or whether I have falsely accused anyone, or whether I have oppressed anyone, or whether I have accepted a bribe from the hand of anyone, and I will repudiate the same, this day, and I will restore it to you."
4. And they said, "You have not falsely accused us, nor oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from the hand of anyone."
5. And he said to them, "The Lord is a witness against you, and his Christ is a witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is the witness."
6. And Samuel said to the people: "It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who led our fathers away from the land of Egypt.
7. Now therefore, stand, so that I may contend in judgment against you before the Lord, about all the mercies of the Lord, which he has given to you and to your fathers:
8. How Jacob entered into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the Lord. And the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and he led your fathers away from Egypt, and he transferred them to this place.
9. But they forgot the Lord their God, and so he delivered them into the hand of Sisera, master of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab. And they fought against them.
10. But afterward, they cried out to the Lord, and they said: 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and we have served the Baals and Ashtaroth. Now therefore, rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.'
11. And the Lord sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and Samuel, and he rescued you from the hand of your enemies all around, and you lived in confidence.
12. Then, seeing that Nahash, the king of the sons of Ammon, had arrived against you, you said to me, 'By no means! Instead, a king shall reign over us,' even though the Lord your God was reigning over you.