Bible Strands
1 Samuel 12:25
But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Samuel addresses the assembled Israelites at Mizpah, warning them that continued disobedience will result in the destruction of both the people and their newly established monarchy.
The words — The Hebrew תּרע (H7489) denotes "to do evil" or "act wickedly," while תסף (H5595) literally means "to be swept away" or "perish."
The thread — This warning parallels Joshua 24:20, where forsaking the LORD brings disaster, and anticipates 1 Samuel 31:1, where Israel’s defeat fulfills the promise of being swept away. Hosea 10:3 later records the people’s claim that they lack a king because they do not revere the LORD.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate obedience to the LORD, explicitly stating that both the people and their monarch share in the consequences of persistent evil. It leaves no room for political or institutional insulation from covenantal judgment.
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
But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
Cross-references
- Joshua 24:20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”
- 1 Samuel 31:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- Hosea 10:3 Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”
- Deuteronomy 28:36 The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
- Isaiah 3:11 Woe to the wicked; disaster is upon them! For they will be repaid with what their hands have done.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.