12. But then you saw Nahash king of the Ammonites coming against you. You said, ‘No! We want a king to rule over us!’
13. Now here is the king you chose. The Lord has put him over you.
14. You must honor the Lord and serve him. You must obey his commands. Both you and the king ruling over you must follow the Lord your God. If you do, it will be well with you.
15. But if you don’t obey the Lord, and if you fight against his commands, he will be against you. He will do to you what he did to your ancestors.
16. “Now stand still and see the great thing the Lord will do before your eyes.
17. It is now the time of the wheat harvest. I will pray for the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will know what an evil thing you did against the Lord when you asked for a king.”
18. Then Samuel prayed to the Lord. That same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. And the people became very afraid of the Lord and Samuel.
19. They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants! Don’t let us die! We’ve added to all our sins the evil of asking for a king.”
20. Samuel answered, “Don’t be afraid. It’s true that you did wrong. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart.
21. Idols are of no use. So don’t worship them. They can’t help you or save you. They are useless!
22. For his own sake, the Lord won’t leave his people. Instead, he was pleased to make you his own people.
23. I will surely not stop praying for you. If I did, I would be sinning against the Lord. I will teach you what is good and right.
24. But you must honor the Lord. You must always serve him with all your heart. Remember the wonderful things he did for you!
25. But if you are stubborn and do evil, God will sweep you and your king away.”