Israel Requests a King
1 Samuel 8When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned away after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah. They said to him, “See, you are old, and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.”
Samuel prayed to YHWH. YHWH said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me as the king over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they also do to you. Now therefore, listen to their voice. However, you must warn-warn them and show them the way of the king who will reign over them.”
Samuel told all YHWH’s words to the people who asked him for a king. He said, “This will be the rights of the king who will reign over y’all: he will take y’all’s sons and appoint them as his servants among his chariots and horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest; and to make his instruments of war and the instruments of his chariots. He will take y’all’s daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. He will take the best of y’all’s fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take one tenth of y’all’s seed and vineyards, and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take y’all’s male servants, y’all’s female servants, y’all’s best young men, and y’all’s donkeys, and assign them to his own work. He will take one tenth of y’all’s flocks, and y’all will become his servants. Y’all will cry out in that day because of your* king whom y’all will have chosen for yourselves*, but YHWH will not answer y’all in that day.”
But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, so that we also may be like all the nations. Our king will judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”
Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of YHWH. YHWH said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.”
Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of y’all, go to your own city.”