Bible Strands
1 Samuel 12:23
As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you. And I will continue to teach you the good and right way.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Samuel addresses the assembled people of Israel in his farewell address, after they have demanded a king and he has laid his integrity before them. He is not yet gone; this is a commitment made in the presence of the community he is about to leave.
The words — חָלִילָה (chaliilah) is a fixed idiom meaning "far be it" or "heaven forbid," marking what follows as unthinkable rather than merely unwise. The construction מֵחֲדֹל ("from ceasing") places the sin not in any active wrong but in stopping—the failure is omission, not commission.
The thread — Paul's "constantly remember you in my prayers" (Romans 1:9; Colossians 1:9; 2 Timothy 1:3) echoes the same pattern: intercession as the ongoing mark of a leader who has not abandoned his people.
Why it lands — The verse redefines the sin a leader can commit: not a dramatic betrayal, but the quiet, unremarkable act of stopping. It asks the reader to notice which prayers they have let lapse and to treat that lapse as the actual failure.
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
King James Version
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:
Cross-references
- Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
- Romans 1:9 God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you
- 2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith.
- 1 Kings 8:36 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
- Acts 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.
- Psalms 34:11 Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
- 2 Chronicles 6:27 then may You hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, so that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk. May You send rain on the land that You gave Your people as an inheritance.
- Colossians 1:28 We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.