Israel’s Request for a King

8 When Samuel was old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They served as judges in Beersheba. ³ His sons did not follow in his footsteps. Instead, they turned aside to seek dishonest gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons are not walking in your ways. Now appoint a king for us so that he can judge^[a] us like all the other nations.” ⁶ But in Samuel’s eyes, their request to receive a king to judge them looked evil, so Samuel prayed to the Lord.

⁷ And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people regarding everything they have said to you, because it is not you whom they have rejected. I am the one they have rejected as king over them. ⁸ This is just like all the actions they have taken from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, right up to this present day. They have forsaken me and served other gods, and now they are also acting the same way toward you. ⁹ So now listen to them. Nevertheless, warn them strongly and show them what the king who reigns over them will do.”