1 Samuel 8

8^*And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he ^amade his ^bsons judges over Israel. ²Now the name of his firstborn was ^||Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in ^cBeer-sheba. ³And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside ^dafter lucre, and ^etook bribes, and perverted judgment. ^4*Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto ^fRamah, ⁵And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now ^gmake us a king to judge us like all the nations. ⁶But the thing ^†displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. ⁷And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for ^hthey have not rejected thee, but ⁱthey have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. ⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ⁹Now therefore ^||hearken unto their voice: ^||howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and ^jshew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

¹⁰And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. ¹¹And he said, ^kThis will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: ^lHe will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. ¹²And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ^mear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. ¹³And he will take your daughters to be ⁿconfectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. ¹⁴And ^ohe will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his ^†officers, and to his servants. ¹⁶And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. ¹⁷He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. ¹⁸And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord ^pwill not hear you in that day.

¹⁹Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; ²⁰That we also may be ^qlike all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. ²¹And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. ²²And the Lord said to Samuel, ^rHearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.