Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at (A)Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. (B)Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, (C)for they have not rejected you, (D)but they have rejected me from being king over them. According 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. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them (E)and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

Samuel's Warning Against Kings

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, (F)“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: (G)he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some (H)to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 (I)He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the 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 female servants and the best of your young men[a] and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, (J)but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

The Lord Grants Israel's Request

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 (K)that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 8:16 Septuagint cattle

When the messengers came to (A)Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, (B)and all the people wept aloud.

Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. (C)And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. He took a yoke of oxen (D)and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, (E)“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out (F)as one man. When he mustered them at (G)Bezek, (H)the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have (I)salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, (J)“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 (K)And the next day Saul put the people (L)in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Kingdom Is Renewed

12 Then the people said to Samuel, (M)“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ (N)Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, (O)“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today (P)the Lord has worked (Q)salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to (R)Gilgal, and there they made Saul king (S)before the Lord in Gilgal. There (T)they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

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