1 Samuel 8:5–22

⁵They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”^c

⁶When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.^{d 8}They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me,^A since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods. ⁹Listen to them, but solemnly warn them^e and tell them about the customary rights of the king who will reign over them.”

¹⁰Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots. ¹²He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties,^f to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. ¹³He can take your daughters to become perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴He can take your best fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his servants.^{g 15}He can take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give them to his officials and servants. ¹⁶He can take your male servants, your female servants, your best cattle,^B and your donkeys and use them for his work. ¹⁷He can take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves can become his servants. ¹⁸When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves,^h but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”ⁱ

¹⁹The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. ²⁰Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us,^j and fight our battles.”

²¹Samuel listened to all the people’s words and then repeated them to the Lord. ²²“Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”^k

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”