1 Samuel 8

Israel Asks for a King

8When Samuel grew old, he appointed^p his sons as Israel’s leaders.^{a 2}The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah,^q and they served at Beersheba.^{r 3}But his sons^s did not follow his ways. They turned aside^t after dishonest gain and accepted bribes^u and perverted^v justice.

⁴So all the elders^w of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.^{x 5}They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king^y to lead^bz us, such as all the other nations^a have.”

⁶But when they said, “Give us a king^b to lead us,” this displeased^c Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷And the Lord told him: “Listen^d to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,^e but they have rejected me as their king.^{f 8}As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking^g me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. ⁹Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know^h what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

¹⁰Samuel toldⁱ all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take^j your sons and make them serve^k with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.^{l 12}Some he will assign to be commanders^m 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. ¹³He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴He will take the best of yourⁿ fields and vineyards^o and olive groves and give them to his attendants.^{p 15}He will take a tenth^q of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^c and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer^r you in that day.^s”

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

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

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