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1 Samuel 8:1-9
New International Version
1 Samuel 8:1-9
New International Version
Israel Asks for a King
8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed(A) his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah,(B) and they served at Beersheba.(C) 3 But his sons(D) did not follow his ways. They turned aside(E) after dishonest gain and accepted bribes(F) and perverted(G) justice.
4 So all the elders(H) of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.(I) 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king(J) to lead[b](K) us, such as all the other nations(L) have.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king(M) to lead us,” this displeased(N) Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen(O) to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,(P) but they have rejected me as their king.(Q) 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking(R) me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know(S) what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:1 Traditionally judges
- 1 Samuel 8:5 Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20
1 Samuel 8:1-9
New English Translation
1 Samuel 8:1-9
New English Translation
Israel Seeks a King
8 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba. 3 But his sons did not follow[a] his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.[b]
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead[c] us, just like all the other nations have.”
6 But this request displeased Samuel, for[d] they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you.[e] For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. 8 Just as they have done[f] from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected me and have served other gods. This is what they are also doing to you. 9 So now do as they say.[g] But you must warn[h] them and make them aware of the policies of the king who will rule over them.”[i]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:3 tn Heb “walk in” (also in v. 5).
- 1 Samuel 8:3 tn Heb “and they turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.”
- 1 Samuel 8:5 tn Heb “judge” (also in v. 6).
- 1 Samuel 8:6 tn Heb “when.”
- 1 Samuel 8:7 tn Heb “Listen to the voice of the people, to all which they say to you.”
- 1 Samuel 8:8 tn Heb “according to all the deeds which they have done.”
- 1 Samuel 8:9 tn Heb “and now, listen to their voice.”
- 1 Samuel 8:9 tn The infinitive absolute appears before a verb of the same root to emphasize the modality of the verb. Here the imperfect verb expresses obligative modality, prescribing what he should do. So the nuance of the preceding infinitive absolute is “you must,” or “you certainly must.”
- 1 Samuel 8:9 tn Heb “and tell them the manner of the king who will rule over them.”
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New English Translation (NET)
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