⁹ The Lord will be king^(A) over the whole earth.^(B) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.^(C)

⁶ I will make you very fruitful;^(A) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.^(B)

The King

¹⁴ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession^(A) of it and settled in it,^(B) and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”^{(C) 15} be sure to appoint^(D) over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.^(E) Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. ¹⁶ The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses^(F) for himself^(G) or make the people return to Egypt^(H) to get more of them,^(I) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”^{(J) 17} He must not take many wives,^(K) or his heart will be led astray.^(L) He must not accumulate^(M) large amounts of silver and gold.^(N)

¹⁸ When he takes the throne^(O) of his kingdom, he is to write^(P) for himself on a scroll a copy^(Q) of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life^(R) so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees^{(S) 20} and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law^(T) to the right or to the left.^(U) Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.^(V)

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.”

¹⁰ Samuel told^(T) all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take^(U) your sons and make them serve^(V) with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.^{(W) 12} Some he will assign to be commanders^(X) of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your^(Y) fields and vineyards^(Z) and olive groves and give them to his attendants.^{(AA) 15} He will take a tenth^(AB) of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 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 relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer^(AC) you in that day.^(AD)”

¹⁹ But the people refused^(AE) to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want^(AF) a king^(AG) over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations,^(AH) with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated^(AI) it before the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “Listen^(AJ) to them and give them a king.”

Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”