1 Samuel 8
New American Standard Bible
Israel Demands a King
8 Now it came about, when Samuel was old, that (A)he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in (B)Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain, and they (C)took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at (D)Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now (E)appoint us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the matter was [a](F)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And (G)Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because (H)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 Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; (I)however, you shall warn them strongly and tell them of (J)the [b]practice of the king who will reign over them.”
Warning concerning a King
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to (K)the people who had asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “(L)This will be the [c]practice of the king who will reign over you: (M)he will take your sons and put them in his chariots for himself and among his horsemen, and (N)they will run before his chariots. 12 (O)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to [d]do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will also take your daughters and use them as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 (P)He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his high officials and his servants. 16 He will also take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and [e]use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 Then (Q)you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but (R)the Lord will not answer you on that day.”
19 Yet the people (S)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 (T)so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, (U)he [f]repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “(V)Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, every man to his city.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:6 Or evil
- 1 Samuel 8:9 Lit custom
- 1 Samuel 8:11 Lit custom
- 1 Samuel 8:12 Lit plow his plowing
- 1 Samuel 8:16 Lit make
- 1 Samuel 8:21 Lit spoke
1 Samuel 8
Common English Bible
Israel demands a king
8 Now when Samuel got old, he appointed his sons to serve as Israel’s judges. 2 The name of his oldest son was Joel; the name of the second was Abijah. They served as judges in Beer-sheba. 3 But Samuel’s sons didn’t follow in his footsteps. They tried to turn a profit, they accepted bribes, and they perverted justice.
4 So all the Israelite elders got together and went to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Listen. You are old now, and your sons don’t follow in your footsteps. So appoint us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” 6 It seemed very bad to Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” so he prayed to the Lord.
7 The Lord answered Samuel, “Comply with the people’s request—everything they ask of you—because they haven’t rejected you. No, they’ve rejected me as king over them. 8 They are doing to you only what they’ve been doing to me[a] from the day I brought them out of Egypt to this very minute, abandoning me and worshipping other gods. 9 So comply with their request, but give them a clear warning, telling them how the king will rule over them.”[b]
10 Then Samuel explained everything the Lord had said to the people who were asking for a king. 11 “This is how the king will rule over you,” Samuel said:
“He will take your sons, and will use them for his chariots and his cavalry and as runners for his chariot. 12 He will use them as his commanders of troops of one thousand and troops of fifty, or to do his plowing and his harvesting, or to make his weapons or parts for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, or bakers. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. 15 He will give one-tenth of your grain and your vineyards to his officials and servants. 16 He will take your male and female servants, along with the best of your cattle[c] and donkeys, and make them do his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and then you yourselves will become his slaves! 18 When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose for yourselves, but on that day the Lord won’t answer you.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel and said, “No! There must be a king over us 20 so we can be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel listened to everything the people said and repeated it directly to the Lord. 22 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Comply with their request. Give them a king.”
Samuel then told the Israelite people, “Go back, each of you, to your own hometown.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:8 LXX; MT lacks to me.
- 1 Samuel 8:9 Or telling them the lawful practice of the king; also in 8:11; cf 10:25.
- 1 Samuel 8:16 LXX; MT young men
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