17. Isn’t the wheat being harvested today? I will call on the Lord, and he’ll send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what a wicked thing you did in the Lord’s presence when you asked for a king.”
18. Then Samuel called on the Lord. That day the Lord sent thunder and rain so that all the people feared the Lord and Samuel very much.
19. All the people pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us so that we will not die. We have added ⌊another⌋ evil thing to all our other sins by asking for a king.”
20. “Don’t be afraid,” Samuel told the people. “You did do all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Instead, serve the Lord wholeheartedly.
21. Don’t turn away to follow other gods. They can’t help or rescue you, because they don’t exist.
22. For the sake of his great name, the Lord will not abandon his people, because the Lord wants to make you his people.
23. It would be unthinkable for me to sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I will go on teaching you the way that is good and right.