1 Samuel 8:1 - 8:22 | ASV

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¹And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

²Now the name of his first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.

³And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah;

⁵and they said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

⁶But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah.

⁷And Jehovah said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.

⁸According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

⁹Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit thou shalt protest solemnly unto them, and shalt show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

¹⁰And Samuel told all the words of Jehovah unto the people that asked of him a king.

¹¹And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;

¹²and he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and `he will set some' to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.

¹³And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

¹⁴And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

¹⁵And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

¹⁶And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

¹⁷He will take the tenth of your flocks: and ye shall be his servants.

¹⁸And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day.

¹⁹But the people refused to hearken unto the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay: but we will have a king over us,

²⁰that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

²¹And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of Jehovah.

²²And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

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