1 Samuel 8
1 Now when Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
When Samuel grew old, he made his sons leaders over Israel.
2 The name of his first son was Joel and the name of his second Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. They were rulers in Beersheba.
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.
However, his sons did not follow his ways. They were corrupt, making money by accepting bribes and perverting justice.
4 Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah,
So the elders of Israel all joined together and came to meet Samuel at Ramah.
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.
“Look here,” they told him, “you are old, and your sons do not follow your ways. Choose a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”
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.
Samuel thought this was a bad idea when they said, “Give us a king to rule over us,” so he prayed to the Lord about it.
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.
“Do what the people tell you,” the Lord said to Samuel, “because it's not you they're rejecting, but me as their king.
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.
They're doing just as they have always done since I led them out of Egypt right up to now. They have abandoned me and worshiped other gods, and they're doing just the same to you.
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.
So do what they want, but give them a solemn warning—explain to them what a king will do when he rules over them.”
10 And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king.
Samuel repeated all that the Lord had said to the people asking him to give them 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;
“This is what a king will do when he rules over you,” he told them. “He will take your sons and make them serve as charioteers and horsemen, and to run as a guard in front of his chariot.
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.
Some of them he will make commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some will have to plow his fields and reap his harvest. Some will be assigned to making weapons of war and chariot equipment.
13 Your daughters he will take to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bread-makers.
He will take your daughters and have them work as perfume-makers, 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.
He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his officials.
15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of the fruit of your vines and give it to his servants.
He will take a tenth of your grain harvest and the produce of your vineyards and allocate it to his chief officers and officials.
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.
He will take your male servants and your female servants, and your best young men and your donkeys, and make them work for him.
17 He will take a tenth of your sheep: and you will be his servants.
He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his slaves.
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.
On that day you will plead to be rescued from the king you have chosen, but the Lord won't answer you then.”
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 refused to listen to what Samuel said. “No!” they insisted. “We want our own king!
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.
That way we can be like all the other nations. Our king will rule us, and will lead us when we go out to fight our battles.”
21 Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord.
Samuel listened to everything the people said and repeated it to 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.
The Lord told Samuel, “Do what they say and give them a king.” Then Samuel told the Israelites, “Go back to your homes.”
