1 Samuel 8

Living Bible

8 In his old age, Samuel retired and appointed his sons as judges in his place. ²Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba; ³but they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice. ⁴Finally the leaders of Israel met in Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. ⁵They told him that since his retirement things hadn’t been the same, for his sons were not good men.

“Give us a king like all the other nations have,” they pleaded. ⁶Samuel was terribly upset and went to the Lord for advice.

⁷“Do as they say,” the Lord replied, “for I am the one they are rejecting, not you—they don’t want me to be their king any longer. ⁸Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. ⁹Do as they ask, but warn them about what it will be like to have a king!”

¹⁰So Samuel told the people what the Lord had said:

¹¹“If you insist on having a king, he will conscript your sons and make them run before his chariots; ¹²some will be made to lead his troops into battle, while others will be slave laborers; they will be forced to plow in the royal fields and harvest his crops without pay, and make his weapons and chariot equipment. ¹³He will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. ¹⁴He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his friends. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your harvest and distribute it to his favorites. ¹⁶He will demand your slaves and the finest of your youth and will use your animals for his personal gain. ¹⁷He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. ¹⁸You will shed bitter tears because of this king you are demanding, but the Lord will not help you.”