1 Samuel 12:13

Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Samuel addresses the assembled Israelites at Mizpah immediately after Saul's anointing, presenting the newly crowned monarch to the nation that demanded a ruler.

The words — The Hebrew hi.Neh ("here!") and be.char.Tem ("you have chosen") frame the king as both a divine provision and a human demand.

The thread — This presentation echoes the initial coronation in 1 Samuel 10:24, anticipates the prophetic warning in Hosea 13:11, and fulfills the people's original petition recorded in 1 Samuel 8:5.

Why it lands — The text states that the requested king is now installed by divine allowance, which demands immediate covenant obedience rather than political satisfaction as outlined in 1 Samuel 12:14.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְעַתָּ֗הve./'a.Tahand/ now הִנֵּ֥הhi.Nehhere!הַמֶּ֛לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ king אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhom בְּחַרְתֶּ֖םbe.char.Temyou have chosen אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhom שְׁאֶלְתֶּ֑םshe.'el.Temyou asked for וְהִנֵּ֨הve./hi.Nehand/ here!נָתַ֧ןna.Tanhe has set יְהוָ֛הYah.wehYahweh עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם'a.lei./Khemover/ you מֶֽלֶךְ׃Me.lekha king

King James Version

Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the Lord hath set a king over you.

Cross-references

1 Samuel 10:24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
Hosea 13:11 So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.
1 Samuel 8:5 “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
1 Samuel 9:20 As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father’s house?”
1 Samuel 11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
Psalms 78:29 So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them what they craved.
Acts 13:21 Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.