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1 Samuel 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
1 Samuel 8
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
II. Establishment of the Monarchy
Chapter 8
Request for a King. 1 [a]In his old age Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel.(A) 2 His firstborn was named Joel, his second son, Abijah; they judged at Beer-sheba. 3 His sons did not follow his example, but looked to their own gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.(B) 4 Therefore all the elders of Israel assembled and went to Samuel at Ramah 5 and said to him, “Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, like all the nations, to rule us.”(C)
6 Samuel was displeased when they said, “Give us a king to rule us.” But he prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said: Listen to whatever the people say. You are not the one they are rejecting. They are rejecting me as their king.(D) 8 They are acting toward you just as they have acted from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this very day, deserting me to serve other gods. 9 Now listen to them; but at the same time, give them a solemn warning and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them.
The Governance of the King. 10 Samuel delivered the message of the Lord in full to those who were asking him for a king. 11 He told them: “The governance of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot.(E) 12 He will appoint from among them his commanders of thousands and of hundreds. He will make them do his plowing and harvesting and produce his weapons of war and chariotry.(F) 13 He will use your daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants.(G) 15 He will tithe your crops and grape harvests to give to his officials[b] and his servants.(H) 16 He will take your male and female slaves, as well as your best oxen and donkeys, and use them to do his work. 17 He will also tithe your flocks. As for you, you will become his slaves.(I) 18 On that day you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.”
Persistent Demand. 19 The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel’s warning and said, “No! There must be a king over us.(J) 20 We too must be like all the nations, with a king to rule us, lead us in warfare, and fight our battles.” 21 Samuel listened to all the concerns of the people and then repeated them to the Lord. 22 The Lord said: Listen to them! Appoint a king to rule over them. Then Samuel said to the people of Israel, “Return, each one of you, to your own city.”[c]
Footnotes
- 8:1–22 From this chapter on, the editors of 1 Samuel provide two and sometimes three perspectives on the same event: e.g., the selection of Saul as king is recounted in chap. 8; 10:17–24; chap. 12.
- 8:15 Officials: lit., eunuchs. These high-ranking administrators were not necessarily emasculated.
- 8:22 To your own city: Samuel will later reassemble the people at Mizpah (10:17) to acclaim Saul as their king.
1 Samuel 8
Amplified Bible
1 Samuel 8
Amplified Bible
Israel Demands a King
8 And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah 5 and 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.” 6 But their demand [a]displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge and rule over us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The 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. 8 Like 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. 9 So 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
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He 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. 12 He 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. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves shall be his servants. 18 Then 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].”
19 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 so 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.” 21 Samuel had heard all the words of the people and repeated them [b]to the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their [c]request and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, each man to his own city.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:6 Lit was evil in the eyes of.
- 1 Samuel 8:21 Lit in the Lord’s hearing.
- 1 Samuel 8:22 Lit voice.
1 Samuel 8
Christian Standard Bible
1 Samuel 8
Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Demand for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel.(A) 2 His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba.(B) 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.(C)
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah.(D) 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”(E)
6 When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.(F) 8 They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me,[a] since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. 9 Listen to them, but solemnly warn them(G) and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”
10 Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. 12 He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties,(H) to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.(I) 15 He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. 16 He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle,[b] and your donkeys and use them for his work. 17 He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves,(J) but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”(K)
19 The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us,(L) and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the Lord. 22 “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”(M)
Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”
1 Samuel 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
1 Samuel 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
Israel Rejects the Lord as King
8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel; the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. 3 The sons didn’t follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice.
4 Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.”
6 But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. 8 They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. 9 Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.”
10 Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything the Lord had said. 11 Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king:
He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots.
12 He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots.
13 He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake.
14 He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials.
15 He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials.
16 He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle,[a] and your donkeys for his own use.
17 He will take a tenth of your flocks.
In addition, you will be his servants.
18 “When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. The Lord will not answer you when that day comes.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! 20 Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out ⌞to war⌟, and fight our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard everything the people had to say, he reported it privately to the Lord. 22 The Lord told him, “Listen to them, and give them a king.”
Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go ⌞back⌟ to your own cities.”
Footnotes
- 8:16 Greek; Masoretic Text “best young men.”
1 Samuel 8
New International Version
1 Samuel 8
New International Version
Israel Asks for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed(A) his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah,(B) and they served at Beersheba.(C) 3 But his sons(D) did not follow his ways. They turned aside(E) after dishonest gain and accepted bribes(F) and perverted(G) justice.
4 So all the elders(H) of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.(I) 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king(J) to lead[b](K) us, such as all the other nations(L) have.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king(M) to lead us,” this displeased(N) Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen(O) to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,(P) but they have rejected me as their king.(Q) 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking(R) me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know(S) what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
10 Samuel told(T) all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take(U) your sons and make them serve(V) with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.(W) 12 Some he will assign to be commanders(X) of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your(Y) fields and vineyards(Z) and olive groves and give them to his attendants.(AA) 15 He will take a tenth(AB) of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer(AC) you in that day.(AD)”
19 But the people refused(AE) to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want(AF) a king(AG) over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations,(AH) with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated(AI) it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen(AJ) to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:1 Traditionally judges
- 1 Samuel 8:5 Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20
- 1 Samuel 8:16 Septuagint; Hebrew young men
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
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Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
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GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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