1 Samuel 8:6-18

International Standard Version

⁶ Samuel was displeased^[a] when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.

⁷ The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to the people^[b] in all that they say to you. In fact, it’s not you they have rejected, but rather they have rejected me from being their king. ⁸ Like all the things they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this very day, they have forsaken me and followed other gods. They’re also doing the same thing to you. ⁹ Now, listen to them, but you are to clearly warn them and inform them about how the king who rules over them will operate.”^[c]

¹⁰ Samuel reported everything the Lord told him to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is how the king who rules over you will operate: He will conscript your sons and assign them^[d] to his chariots. He will conscript them^[e] as his horsemen, and they’ll run in front of his chariots. ¹² He will appoint his officers over thousands and officers over fifties—some will plow his fields,^[f] reap his harvest, and craft his war implements and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters for perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best products of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves and give them to his servants.^{[g] 15} He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his officers and servants.^{[h] 16} He will take your male and female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys to do his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flock, and you will become his servants. ¹⁸ When all of this comes about, you will cry out because of your king whom you chose for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”