1 Samuel 8:10-22

International Standard Version

¹⁰ Samuel reported everything the Lord told him to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is how the king who rules over you will operate: He will conscript your sons and assign them^[a] to his chariots. He will conscript them^[b] as his horsemen, and they’ll run in front of his chariots. ¹² He will appoint his officers over thousands and officers over fifties—some will plow his fields,^[c] reap his harvest, and craft his war implements and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters for perfumers, cooks, and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best products of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves and give them to his servants.^{[d] 15} He will take a tenth of your seed and your vineyards and give it to his officers and servants.^{[e] 16} He will take your male and female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys to do his work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flock, and you will become his servants. ¹⁸ When all of this comes about, you will cry out because of your king whom you chose for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you at that time.”

¹⁹ The people refused to listen to Samuel.^[f] Instead, they insisted, “No! Let a king rule over us instead! ²⁰ We, too, will be like all the nations! Our king will govern us and go out before us to fight our battles.”

²¹ So Samuel listened to all the words of the people, and he repeated them directly to^[g] the Lord. ²² The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to them, and appoint a king for them.”

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you go to his own town.”