1 Samuel 8
Spanish Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition
8 Y ACONTECIÓ que habiendo Samuel envejecido, puso sus hijos por jueces sobre Israel.
2 Y el nombre de su hijo primogénito fué Joel, y el nombre del segundo, Abia: fueron jueces en Beer-sebah.
3 Mas no anduvieron los hijos por los caminos de su padre, antes se ladearon tras la avaricia, recibiendo cohecho y pervirtiendo el derecho.
4 Entonces todos los ancianos de Israel se juntaron, y vinieron á Samuel en Rama,
5 Y dijéronle: He aquí tú has envejecido, y tus hijos no van por tus caminos: por tanto, constitúyenos ahora un rey que nos juzgue, como todas las gentes.
6 Y descontentó á Samuel esta palabra que dijeron: Danos rey que nos juzgue. Y Samuel oró á Jehová.
7 Y dijo Jehová á Samuel: Oye la voz del pueblo en todo lo que te dijeren: porque no te han desechado á ti, sino á mí me han desechado, para que no reine sobre ellos.
8 Conforme á todas las obras que han hecho desde el día que los saqué de Egipto hasta hoy, que me han dejado y han servido á dioses ajenos, así hacen también contigo.
9 Ahora pues, oye su voz: mas protesta contra ellos declarándoles el derecho del rey que ha de reinar sobre ellos.
10 Y dijo Samuel todas las palabras de Jehová al pueblo que le había pedido rey.
11 Dijo pues: Este será el derecho del rey que hubiere de reinar sobre vosotros: tomará vuestros hijos, y pondrálos en sus carros, y en su gente de á caballo, para que corran delante de su carro:
12 Y se elegirá capitanes de mil, y capitanes de cincuenta: pondrálos asimismo á que aren sus campos, y sieguen sus mieses, y á que hagan sus armas de guerra, y los pertrechos de sus carros:
13 Tomará también vuestras hijas para que sean perfumadoras, cocineras, y amasadoras.
14 Asimismo tomará vuestras tierras, vuestras viñas, y vuestros buenos olivares, y los dará á sus siervos.
15 Él diezmará vuestras simientes y vuestras viñas, para dar á sus eunucos y á sus siervos.
16 Él tomará vuestros siervos, y vuestras siervas, y vuestros buenos mancebos, y vuestros asnos, y con ellos hará sus obras.
17 Diezmará también vuestro rebaño, y seréis sus siervos.
18 Y clamaréis aquel día á causa de vuestro rey que os habréis elegido, mas Jehová no os oirá en aquel día.
19 Empero el pueblo no quiso oir la voz de Samuel; antes dijeron: No, sino que habrá rey sobre nosotros:
20 Y nosotros seremos también como todas las gentes, y nuestro rey nos gobernará, y saldrá delante de nosotros, y hará nuestras guerras.
21 Y oyó Samuel todas las palabras del pueblo, y refiriólas en oídos de Jehová.
22 Y Jehová dijo á Samuel: Oye su voz, y pon rey sobre ellos. Entonces dijo Samuel á los varones de Israel: Idos cada uno á su ciudad.
1 Samuel 8
New Catholic Bible
The Inauguration of the Monarchy[a]
Chapter 8
The People Request a King. 1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of the older was Joel, and the name of the younger was Abijah, and they were judges at Beer-sheba. 3 The sons did not walk in his ways. They sought dishonest gains, took bribes, and perverted justice.
4 All of the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are now old, and your sons are not following in your path. Appoint a king over us, just like all the other nations have.”
6 It displeased Samuel when they said to him, “Appoint a king over us,” so Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to him, “Listen to everything that the people have requested of you. It is not you whom the people have rejected, they have rejected me as their king. 8 They have done this from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt to this very day. They have rejected me and served other gods, just as they have rejected you. 9 So grant their request, but warn them solemnly and inform them what the king who reigns over them will do.”
10 The Rule of a King. Samuel told the people who were asking for a king everything that the Lord had said. 11 He said, “This is what the king who reigns over you will do. He will take away your sons to serve him on his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.[b] 12 He will appoint some as commanders of groups of thousands, and others as commanders of groups of fifty. He will set some to plowing his fields and reaping his harvests. Others will make weapons and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves and he will give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain harvest and the harvest of your vineyards and give it to his officials and his attendants. 16 He will take your menservants and your maidservants, the best of your cattle and donkeys, and use them for his own work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you, yourselves, will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for help because of the king that you have chosen, but on that day the Lord will not listen to you.”[c]
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king over us! 20 Then we will be like every other nation, with a king to lead us and to go out before us to fight in our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard everything that the people had said, he repeated it to the Lord. 22 So the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them and appoint a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Let each man go back to his own town.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:1 Israel needs a strong authority to deal with the Philistine threat. Neighboring peoples offer a model: monarchy. But does not having a king mean imitating the pagan nations and betraying the Lord, who is the only true king of his people? The conscience of Israel is disturbed; the passages we shall be reading here (revised by the author of the book) bear witness to this unease: some Israelites are in favor of a monarchy, others opposed to it.
- 1 Samuel 8:11 In front of his chariots: as a sign of honor; this custom continued in the East down to modern times (2 Sam 15:1; 1 Ki 1:5).
- 1 Samuel 8:18 Samuel, despite his many admonitions, could not convince the Israelites that they would regret their decision to appoint a king. He wanted them to recognize that in God alone would they find true peace and deliverance.
Spanish Blue Red and Gold Letter Edition (SRV-BRG)
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