1 Samuel 8
8
Israel Demands a King
1When Samuel became old, #Deut. 16:18he made his sons judges over Israel. 2The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3Yet his sons did not walk in his ways #[Ex. 18:21] but turned aside after gain. #[Ex. 23:8; Deut. 16:19; Ps. 15:5]They took bribes and perverted justice.
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at #[See ch. 7:17 above]Ramah 5and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. #ver. 19, 20; [Deut. 17:14; Hos. 13:10; Acts 13:21]Now appoint for 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 to the Lord. 7And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, #[Ex. 16:8] for they have not rejected you, #ch. 10:19but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them #See ver. 11-18and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
Samuel’s Warning Against Kings
10So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11He said, #ch. 10:25; See Deut. 17:16-20 “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: #ch. 14:52he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some #See Gen. 45:6to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14#1 Kgs. 21:7; [Ezek. 46:18]He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15He will take the 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 female servants and the best of your young men#8:16 Septuagint cattle and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, #Prov. 1:28; Isa. 1:15; Mic. 3:4but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
The Lord Grants Israel’s Request
19But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20#ver. 5that 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 when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22And the Lord said to Samuel, #ver. 7; [Hos. 13:11]“Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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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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