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

Israel Demands a King

8 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 justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord, 7 and 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. 8 Just as they have done to me,[a] from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

10 So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle[b] and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

Israel’s Request for a King Granted

19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.” Samuel then said to the people of Israel, “Each of you return home.”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 8:8 Gk: Heb lacks to me
  2. 1 Samuel 8:16 Gk: Heb young men

You Might Also Like:

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

1 Samuel 8 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

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 ...
Read More

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

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More