1 Samuel 8
8
Israel Demands a King
1And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. 3His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5and said to him, “Look, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint us a king to judge us [and rule over us] like all the other nations.” 6But their demand #8:6 Lit was evil in the eyes of.displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge and rule over us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them. 8Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned (rejected) Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9So now listen to their voice; only solemnly warn them and tell them the ways of the king who will reign over them.”
Warning concerning a King
10So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them for himself to his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. 12He will appoint them for himself to be commanders over thousands and over fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and equipment for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16He will take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his servants. 18Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day [because you have rejected Him as King].”
19Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20so that we too may be like all the nations [around us], that our king may judge [and govern] us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21Samuel had heard all the words of the people and repeated them #8:21 Lit in the Lord’s hearing.to the Lord. 22And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their #8:22 Lit voice.request and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, each man to his own city.”
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1 Samuel 8
8
Israel Asks for a King
1When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons to be judges for Israel. 2Samuel’s first son was named Joel. His second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. 3But Samuel’s sons did not live the same way he did. Joel and Abijah accepted bribes. They took money secretly and changed their decisions in court. They cheated people in court. 4So all the elders of Israel met together and went to Ramah to meet with Samuel. 5The elders said to Samuel, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live right. They are not like you. Now, give us a king to rule us like all the other nations.”
6So the elders asked for a king to lead them. Samuel thought this was a bad idea, so he prayed to the Lord. 7The Lord told Samuel, “Do what the people tell you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me. They don’t want me to be their king. 8They are doing the same thing they have always done. I took them out of Egypt, but they left me and served other gods. They are doing the same to you. 9So listen to the people and do what they say. But give them a warning. Tell the people what a king will do to them. Tell them how a king rules people.”
10Those people asked for a king. So Samuel told them everything the Lord said. 11Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take away your sons and force them to serve him. He will force them to be soldiers—they must fight from his chariots and become horse soldiers in his army. Your sons will become guards running in front of the king’s chariot.
12“A king will force your sons to become soldiers. He will choose which of your sons will be officers over 1000 men and which will be officers over 50 men.
“A king will force some of your sons to plow his fields and gather his harvest. He will force some of your sons to make weapons for war and to make things for his chariots.
13“A king will take your daughters and force some of them to make perfume for him and some to cook and bake for him.
14“A king will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves. He will take them from you and give them to his officers. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes, and he will give them to his officers and servants.
16“A king will take your men and women servants. He will take your best cattle#8:16 cattle This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text has “young men.” and your donkeys. He will use them all for his own work. 17He will take one-tenth of your flocks.
“And you yourselves will become slaves of this king. 18When that time comes, you will cry because of the king you chose. But the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”
19But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king to rule over us. 20Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will lead us. He will go before us and fight our battles.”
21Samuel listened to the people and then repeated their words to the Lord. 22The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel told the Israelites, “You will have a king. Now go home.”
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