1 Samuel 8
8
Israel Asks for a King
1And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abi´ah: they were judges in Beer–sheba. 3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 5#Deut 17.14. and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 7And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. 9Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
10And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. 11And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. 13And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. 14And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. 15And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. 16And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. 18And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.
19Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. 21And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. 22And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
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1 Samuel 8: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
1 Samuel 8
8
Israel Asks for a King
1When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges for Israel. 2His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. 3But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly. They took money secretly to be dishonest in their judging.
4So all the elders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. 5They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”
6When the elders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the Lord. 7The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. 8They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me. They served other gods. They are doing the same to you. 9Now listen to the people. But give them a warning. Tell them what the king who rules over them will do.”
10Samuel answered those who had asked him for a king. He told them all the words of the Lord. 11Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons. He will make them serve with his chariots and his horses. They will run in front of the king’s chariot. 12The king will make some of your sons commanders over 1,000 men or over 50 men. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13This king will take your daughters. Some of your daughters will make perfume. Others will cook and bake for him. 14He will take your best fields, vineyards and olive groves. He will give them to his servants. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. 16He will take your men servants and girl servants. He will take your best cattle 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 his slaves. 18When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. The Lord will not answer you then.”
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 judge us. He will go with us and fight our battles.”
21Samuel heard all that the people said. Then he repeated all their words to the Lord. 22The Lord answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”
Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Everyone go back to his town.”
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