The Meaning of 1 Samuel 12:5 Explained

1 Samuel 12:5

KJV: 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.

YLT: And he saith unto them, 'A witness is Jehovah against you: and a witness is His anointed this day, that ye have not found anything in my hand;' and they say, 'A witness.'

Darby: And he said to them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand! And the people said, He is witness!

ASV: And he said unto them, Jehovah is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they said, He is witness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Samuel 12:5 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 12:1-13 - Samuel's Last Message To Israel
An end must come to the longest and most useful service. "Before his long sleep Samuel made protestation of his innocence before God and the people." Yes, the long sleep will come to us all, and happy are they who, before they lay down their heads upon the pillow of death, are able to extend their hands and to bare their hearts before those who have known them best, and say, "These are clean." The people bore double witness to the truth of Samuel's challenge, and the old man was comforted. Yes, God was witness, as well as the people, to his absolute integrity. See Acts 24:16.
Then Samuel pressed home, upon that dense mass of people, the sin of which they had been guilty in demanding a king instead of waiting for a heaven-sent deliverer. But we are liable to the same mistake. We look to the visible and forget the invisible. We forget that the invisible Christ stands waiting to succor, prepared to save unto the uttermost. In this faith the Apostle found his abiding peace and steadfastness. See 2 Corinthians 1:10. Let us, also, "set our hope" on Him who has delivered, and will deliver. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 12

1  Samuel testifies his integrity
6  He reproves the people of ingratitude
16  He terrifies them with thunder in harvest time
20  he comforts them in God's mercy

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 12:5 mean?

And he said to them [is] witness Yahweh against you and [is] witness His anointed day this that not you have found in my hand Anything and they answered [He is] witness -
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם עֵ֧ד יְהוָ֣ה בָּכֶ֗ם וְעֵ֤ד מְשִׁיחוֹ֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֣י לֹ֧א מְצָאתֶ֛ם בְּיָדִ֖י מְא֑וּמָה וַיֹּ֖אמֶר עֵֽד פ

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אֲלֵיהֶ֜ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
עֵ֧ד  [is]  witness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵד  
Sense: witness.
יְהוָ֣ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
בָּכֶ֗ם  against  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
וְעֵ֤ד  and  [is]  witness 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵד  
Sense: witness.
מְשִׁיחוֹ֙  His  anointed 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מָשִׁיחַ  
Sense: anointed, anointed one.
הַיּ֣וֹם  day 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַזֶּ֔ה  this 
Parse: Article, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
כִּ֣י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
מְצָאתֶ֛ם  you  have  found 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
בְּיָדִ֖י  in  my  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
מְא֑וּמָה  Anything 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְאוּמָה  
Sense: anything.
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר  and  they  answered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
עֵֽד  [He  is]  witness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵד  
Sense: witness.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation