1 Samuel 8 - New Century Version (NCV)

Israel Asks for a King

8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges for Israel. ²His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. ³But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly, and they accepted money secretly to make wrong judgments.

⁴So all the elders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. ⁵They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”

⁶When the elders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the Lord, ⁷and the Lord told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. ⁸They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me and served other gods. They are doing the same to you. ⁹Now listen to the people, but warn them what the king who rules over them will do.”

¹⁰So Samuel told those who had asked him for a king what the Lord had said. ¹¹Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of the king’s chariot. ¹²The king will make some of your sons commanders over thousands or over fifties. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³He will take your daughters to make perfume and cook and bake for him. ¹⁴He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. ¹⁶He will take your male and female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them all for his own work. ¹⁷He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. But the Lord will not answer you then.”

¹⁹But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king to rule over us. ²⁰Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge for us and go with us and fight our battles.”

²¹After Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated their words to the Lord. ²²The Lord answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”

Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go back to your towns.”

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 - New Century Version (NCV)

Israel Asks for a King

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