Passage

1 Samuel 12.21

Book: 1 Samuel · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

19. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, that we die not; for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following Jehovah, but serve Jehovah with all your heart:

21. and turn ye not aside; for then would ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.

For Jehovah will not forsake his people for his great name's sake, because it hath pleased Jehovah to make you a people unto himself. 23. Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way. (1 Samuel 12:19-23, ASV)

WEB

19. All the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king.” 20. Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed done all this evil; yet don’t turn aside from following Yahweh, but serve Yahweh with all your heart.

21. Don’t turn aside to go after vain things which can’t profit or deliver, for they are vain.

For Yahweh will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake, because it has pleased Yahweh to make you a people for himself. 23. Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Yahweh in ceasing to pray for you: but I will instruct you in the good and the right way. (1 Samuel 12:19-23, WEB)

KJV

19. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

21. And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.

For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people. 23. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way: ^{in: Heb. from} (1 Samuel 12:19-23, KJV)

YLT

19. and all the people say unto Samuel, 'Pray for thy servants unto Jehovah thy God, and we do not die, for we have added to all our sins evil to ask for us a king.' 20. And Samuel saith unto the people, 'Fear not; ye have done all this evil; only, turn not aside from after Jehovah, and ye have served Jehovah with all your heart,

21. and ye do not turn aside after the vain things which do not profit nor deliver, for they [are] vain,

for Jehovah doth not leave His people, on account of His great name; for Jehovah hath been pleased to make you to Him for a people. 23. 'I, also, far be it from me to sin against Jehovah, by ceasing to pray for you, and I have directed you in the good and upright way; (1 Samuel 12:19-23, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

H8414 - tohu, tohu, Strong's H8414

Quoted in

Lexicon:

H8414 - tohu

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.