Israel Demands a King

8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.^(A)

Municipal Judges and Officers

¹⁸ “You shall appoint judges and officials throughout your tribes, in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall render just decisions for the people.^{(A) 19} You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.^(B)

²¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, I warn you to keep these instructions without prejudice, doing nothing on the basis of partiality.^(A)

² I gave my brother Hanani charge over Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.^(A)

⁵ He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you judge not on behalf of humans but on the Lord’s behalf; he is with you in giving judgment.^(A)

¹⁴ He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel eight years.^(A)

⁴ He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.^(A)

Gideon’s Idolatry

²² Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have delivered us out of the hand of Midian.” ²³ Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”^(A)