1 Samuel 8

American Standard Version

8 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. ² Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. ³ And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah; ⁵ and they said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. ⁶ But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah. ⁷ And Jehovah said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them. ⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. ⁹ Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit thou shalt protest solemnly unto them, and shalt show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

¹⁰ And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the people that asked of him a king. ¹¹ And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, ^[a]for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots; ¹² and he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will set some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots. ¹³ And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. ¹⁴ And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his ^[b]officers, and to his servants. ¹⁶ And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest ^[c]young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. ¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your flocks: and ye shall be his servants. ¹⁸ And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

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