1 Samuel 12:3
1 And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you.
2 And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.
Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
4 And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand.
5 And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
- KJV
- Behold, here I am: witness against me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
- WEB
- Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Of whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me blind my eyes? I will restore it to you.”
- ASV
- Here I am: witness against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
- DARBY
- Here I am: testify against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I injured? or of whose hand have I received any ransom and blinded mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it to you.
- BLB
- Behold, witness against me before YHWH and before His anointed. The ox of whom have I taken? Or the donkey of whom have I taken? Or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? Or from the hand of whom have I received a bribe and hidden my eyes with it? And I will restore it to you⁺.”
- ÅB
- Her står jeg! Vitne nå mot meg for Herren og for hans salvede: Er det noen jeg har fratatt hans okse eller hans esel? Er det noen jeg har gjort urett mot eller undertrykt? Er det noen jeg har tatt imot gaver av, så jeg skulle lukke mine øyne til for noe? Om så er, vil jeg gi dere vederlag for det.
- OTB
- Her er jeg. Vitne mot meg for Herren og for Hans salvede: Hvem sin okse har jeg tatt? Eller hvem sin esel har jeg tatt? Hvem har jeg bedratt? Hvem har jeg undertrykt? Fra hvem sin hånd har jeg tatt bestikkelser for å blinde mine øyne med det? Vitne mot meg, så skal jeg gi det tilbake til dere.»
- B1930
- Her står jeg! Vidne nu mot mig for Herren og for hans salvede: Er det nogen jeg har fratatt hans okse eller hans asen? Er det nogen jeg har gjort urett mot eller undertrykt? Er det nogen jeg har tatt imot gaver av, så jeg skulde lukke mine øine til for noget? Om så er, vil jeg gi eder vederlag for det.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Acts 20:33
I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.
Read in contextNumbers 16:15
And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 16:19
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
Read in context1 Samuel 24:6
And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.
Read in context1 Peter 5:2
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Read in context1 Samuel 12:5
And he said unto them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.
Read in context1 Samuel 10:1
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
Read in contextExodus 23:8
And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
Read in context