1 Samuel 8 - Living Bible (TLB)

8 In his old age, Samuel retired and appointed his sons as judges in his place. ²Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba; ³but they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice. ⁴Finally the leaders of Israel met in Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. ⁵They told him that since his retirement things hadn’t been the same, for his sons were not good men.

“Give us a king like all the other nations have,” they pleaded. ⁶Samuel was terribly upset and went to the Lord for advice.

⁷“Do as they say,” the Lord replied, “for I am the one they are rejecting, not you—they don’t want me to be their king any longer. ⁸Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. ⁹Do as they ask, but warn them about what it will be like to have a king!”

¹⁰So Samuel told the people what the Lord had said:

¹¹“If you insist on having a king, he will conscript your sons and make them run before his chariots; ¹²some will be made to lead his troops into battle, while others will be slave laborers; they will be forced to plow in the royal fields and harvest his crops without pay, and make his weapons and chariot equipment. ¹³He will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. ¹⁴He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his friends. ¹⁵He will take a tenth of your harvest and distribute it to his favorites. ¹⁶He will demand your slaves and the finest of your youth and will use your animals for his personal gain. ¹⁷He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. ¹⁸You will shed bitter tears because of this king you are demanding, but the Lord will not help you.”

¹⁹But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning.

“Even so, we still want a king,” they said, ²⁰“for we want to be like the nations around us. He will govern us and lead us to battle.”

²¹So Samuel told the Lord what the people had said, ²²and the Lord replied again, “Then do as they say and give them a king.”

So Samuel agreed and sent the men home again.

1 Samuel 8 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

8 And it cometh to pass, when Samuel [is] aged, that he maketh his sons judges over Israel. 2 And the name of his first-born son is Joel, and the name of his second Abiah, judges in Beer-Sheba: 3 and his sons have not walked in his ways, and turn aside after the dishonest gain, and take a bribe, and...
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1 Samuel 8 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

8 And it was done, when Samuel waxed eld, he set his sons to be judges of Israel. (And it was done, when Samuel grew old, he made his sons to be judges in Israel.) 2 And the name of his first begotten son was Joel, and the name of the second was Abiah, that were judges in Beersheba (and they were ju...
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1 Samuel 8 - World English Bible (WEB)

8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. 3 His sons didn’t walk in his ways, but turned away after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elde...
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1 Samuel 8 - The Voice (VOICE)

8 When Samuel was old, he named his sons judges of Israel to rule over the people and be their deliverers. 2 His first son, Joel, and his second son, Abijah, were judges in Beersheba, 3 but they were not like Samuel. They profited from dishonesty, took bribes, and fostered injustice. 4 So the eld...
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1 Samuel 8 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Israel Demands a King8 Now when Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second Abijah—they were judges in Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain—they took bribes ...
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1 Samuel 8 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Israel Demands a King8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his first-born son was Jo′el, and the name of his second, Abi′jah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted ...
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1 Samuel 8 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

1 Samuel 8 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Israel Demands a King8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 Yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted j...
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1 Samuel 8 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition (NRSVACE)

1 Samuel 8 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

1 Samuel 8 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Israel Demands a King8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.(A)2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 Yet his sons did not follow in his ways but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted...
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1 Samuel 8 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Israel Requests a King8 As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. 2 Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. 3 But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 Finally, all the elders of Isr...
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1 Samuel 8 - New Life Version (NLV)

Israel Asks for a King8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges in Israel. 2 The name of his first-born son was Joel. And the name of his second son was Abijah. They were men who judged in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside to get money. They took pay to ...
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1 Samuel 8 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Israel Demands a King8 Now it came to pass when Samuel was (A)old that he (B)made his (C)sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons (D)did not walk in his ways; they turned aside (E)after dishones...
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1 Samuel 8 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Israel asks for a king8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes a...
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1 Samuel 8 - New International Version (NIV)

Israel Asks for a King8 When Samuel grew old, he appointed(A) his sons as Israel’s leaders.[a] 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah,(B) and they served at Beersheba.(C) 3 But his sons(D) did not follow his ways. They turned aside(E) after dishonest gain and acce...
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1 Samuel 8 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Israel Asks for a King8 When Samuel became old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders. 2 The name of his oldest son was Joel. The name of his second son was Abijah. They served as judges at Beersheba. 3 But his sons didn’t live as he did. They were only interested in making money. They accepte...
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1 Samuel 8 - New English Translation (NET)

Israel Seeks a King8 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba. 3 But his sons did not follow[a] his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes...
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1 Samuel 8 - Living Bible (TLB)

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