Bible Strands
1 Samuel 12:5
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samuel addresses the elders of Israel at the close of his leadership, invoking divine and royal testimony to verify his personal integrity.
The words — The Hebrew term עֵד ('ed) means a formal witness, used twice in the verse to position Yahweh and the anointed king as validators of Samuel’s declaration.
The thread — The pattern of calling a witness to authenticate a claim of innocence appears in Acts 24:20, where Paul demands his accusers produce evidence of wrongdoing, while Acts 23:9 shows how contested testimony fractures opposing groups.
Why it lands — The passage requires a direct evaluation of authority and conduct before God and the community, asking readers to test their own claims against objective standards of integrity.
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
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.
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.
- Acts 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?”
- Acts 24:20 Otherwise, let these men state for themselves any crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
- 1 Corinthians 4:4 My conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who judges me.
- 2 Corinthians 1:12 For 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.
- 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
- Job 31:35 (Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature. Let the Almighty answer me; let my accuser compose an indictment.
- Job 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.
- Psalms 17:3 You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.
- John 18:38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.