Shared Word Translation
1 Samuel 8
Samuel’s Sons Judge Unjustly
And it happened when Samuel became old that he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after gain, took bribes, and distorted justice.
Israel Asks for a King
Then all the elders of Israel gathered and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. And now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was evil in Samuel’s eyes when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds they have done from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day—abandoning me and serving other gods—so they are also doing to you. And now listen to their voice. Only solemnly warn them and declare to them the judgment of the king who will reign over them.”
The Judgment of the King
Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking from him a king. He said, “This will be the judgment of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint them for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters as perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and vineyards and give it to his court officials and servants. He will take your male servants and female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. You will cry out on that day because of your king whom you chose for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”
The People Refuse to Listen
But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel. They said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, so that we also may be like all the nations, and our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” Samuel heard all the words of the people and spoke them in the ears of the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and make a king for them.” Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go, each man to his city.”