1 Samuel 8

1 Now when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.

And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

2 The name of his first son was Joel and the name of his second Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.

And these [are] the names of his sons; Joel the first-born, and the name of the second Abia, judges in Bersabee.

3 And his sons did not go in his ways, but moved by the love of money took rewards, and were not upright in judging.

And his sons did not walk in his way; and they turned aside after gain, and took gifts, and perverted judgments.

4 Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah,

And the men of Israel gather themselves together, and come to Armathaim to Samuel,

5 And said to him, See now, you are old, and your sons do not go in your ways: give us a king now to be our judge, so that we may be like the other nations.

and they said to him, Behold, thou art grown old, and thy sons walk not in thy way; and now set over us a king to judge us, as also the other nations [have].

6 But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord.

And the thing [was] evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the Lord.

7 And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Hear the voice of the people, in whatever they shall say to thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me from reigning over them.

8 As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you.

According to all their doings which they have done to me, from the day that I brought them out of Egypt until this day, even [as] they have deserted me, and served other gods, so they do also to thee.

9 Give ear now to their voice: but make a serious protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler.

And now hearken to their voice; only thou shalt solemnly testify to them, and thou shalt describe to them the manner of the king who shall reign over them.

10 And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king.

And Samuel spoke every word of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king.

11 And he said, This is the sort of king who will be your ruler: he will take your sons and make them his servants, his horsemen, and drivers of his war-carriages, and they will go running before his war-carriages;

And he said, This shall be the manner of the king that shall rule over you: he shall take your sons, and put them in his chariots, and among his horsemen, and running before his chariots,

12 And he will make them captains of thousands and of fifties; some he will put to work ploughing and cutting his grain and making his instruments of war and building his war-carriages.

and [his manner shall be] to make them to himself captains of hundreds and captains of thousands; and to reap his harvest, and gather his vintage, and prepare his instruments of war, and the implements of his chariots.

13 Your daughters he will take to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bread-makers.

And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and cooks, and bakers.

14 He will take your fields and your vine-gardens and your olive-gardens, all the best of them, and give them to his servants.

And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your good oliveyards, and give them to his servants.

15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of the fruit of your vines and give it to his servants.

And he will take the tithe of your seeds and your vineyards, and give [it] to his eunuchs, and to his servants.

16 He will take your men-servants and your servant-girls, and the best of your oxen and your asses and put them to his work.

And he will take your servants, and your handmaids, and your good herds and your asses, and will take the tenth of them for his works.

17 He will take a tenth of your sheep: and you will be his servants.

And he will tithe your flocks; and ye shall be his servants.

18 Then you will be crying out because of your king whom you have taken for yourselves; but the Lord will not give you an answer in that day.

And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye have chosen to yourselves, and the Lord shall not hear you in those days, because ye have chosen to yourselves a king.

19 But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us,

But the people would not hearken to Samuel; and they said to him, Nay, but there shall be a king over us.

20 So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war.

An we also will be like all the nations; and our king shall judge us, and shall go out before us, and fight our battles.

21 Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord.

And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and spoke them in the ears of the Lord.

22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to their voice and make a king for them. Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let every man go back to his town.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to their voice, and appoint them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let each man depart to his city.