1 Samuel 8:10-22
Legacy Standard Bible
The People Refuse Samuel’s Words
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to (A)the people who had asked of him a king. 11 And he said, “(B)This will be the [a]custom of the king who will reign over you: (C)he will take your sons and appoint them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and (D)they will run before his chariots. 12 (E)And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to [b]do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 (F)He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his [c]servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will also take your male slaves and your female slaves and your best young men and your donkeys and [d]use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 Then (G)you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but (H)Yahweh will not answer you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless, the people (I)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 (J)that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 So Samuel heard all the words of the people, and (K)he repeated them in the hearing of Yahweh. 22 Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “(L)Listen to their voice and [e]appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:11 Lit judgment
- 1 Samuel 8:12 Lit plow his plowing
- 1 Samuel 8:14 Or slave, cf. 8:16; see Foreword, “The Terminology of Slave”
- 1 Samuel 8:16 Lit make
- 1 Samuel 8:22 Lit cause a king to reign for them
1 Samuel 8:10-22
New English Translation
10 So Samuel spoke all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot. 12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties,[a] as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment. 13 He will take your daughters to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers. 14 He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his own servants. 15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators[b] and his servants. 16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. 17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.”[c]
19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning.[d] Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us! 20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us[e] and fight our battles.”
21 So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the Lord.[f] 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do as they say[g] and install a king over them.” Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to his own city.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 8:12 tc The numbers of v. 12 are confused in the Greek and Syriac versions. For “fifties” the LXX has “hundreds.” The Syriac Peshitta has “heads of thousands and heads of hundreds and heads of fifties and heads of tens,” perhaps reflecting influence from Deut 1:15.
- 1 Samuel 8:15 tn Or “eunuchs” (so NAB); NIV “officials”; KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT “officers.”
- 1 Samuel 8:18 tc The LXX adds “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.”
- 1 Samuel 8:19 tn Heb “and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”
- 1 Samuel 8:20 tn Heb “and go out before us.”
- 1 Samuel 8:21 tn Heb “and Samuel heard all the words of the people and he spoke them into the ears of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 8:22 tn Heb “listen to their voice.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.