1 Samuel 12:5
3 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.”
4 “You have not wronged us or oppressed us,” they replied, “nor have you taken anything from the hand of man.”
Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.
6 Then Samuel said to the people, “The LORD is the One who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7 Now present yourselves, so that I may confront you before the LORD with all the righteous acts He has done for you and your fathers.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- Samuel said to them, “The LORD is a witness against you, and His anointed is a witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” “He is a witness,” they replied.
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- He said to them, “The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness today, that you have not found anything in my hand.” They said, “He is witness.”
- ASV
- And he said unto them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is witness.
- DARBY
- And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand! And [the people] said, [He is] witness!
- BLB
- And he said to them, “YHWH [is] witness against you⁺, and His anointed [is] witness this day, that you⁺ have not found anything in my hand.” And he said, “Witness.”
- ÅB
- Da sa han til dem: Herren er vitne mot dere, og hans salvede er vitne på denne dag at dere ikke har funnet noe hos meg. Folket svarte: Ja, han er vitne.
- OTB
- Han talte til dem og sa: «Herren og Hans salvede er vitner i dag at dere ikke har funnet noe i min besittelse.» Og de svarte: «Han er vitne.»
- B1930
- Da sa han til dem: Herren er vidne mot eder, og hans salvede er vidne på denne dag at I ikke har funnet noget hos mig. Folket svarte: Ja, han er vidne.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Exodus 22:4
If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.
Read in contextActs 24:20
Otherwise, let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
Read in contextActs 23:9
A great clamor arose, and some scribes from the party of the Pharisees got up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
Read in context2 Corinthians 1:12
And this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God—not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.
Read in context1 Corinthians 4:4
My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.
Read in contextJob 42:7
After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.
Read in context1 Samuel 26:9
But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can lift a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
Read in contextJob 31:35–40
(Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.
Read in context