1 Samuel 8

8 ¹ Now when Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. ² His firstborn son was Joel and his second was Abijah; they served as judges in Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not follow his ways. They went after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons are not following your ways. Now appoint a king to lead us, like all the other nations."

⁶ But Samuel was displeased when they said, "Give us a king to lead us." So Samuel prayed to our Father.

⁷ And our Father said to Samuel, "Listen to everything the people say to you, for they have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ Just as they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you as well. ⁹ Now then, listen to them; only you must solemnly warn them and tell them what a king who reigns over them will do."

Samuel Warns of the King's Ways

¹⁰ So Samuel told all the words of our Father 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 assign them to his chariots and his horsemen, and they will run before his chariots. ¹² He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and others to make his weapons of war and the equipment for 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 groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and your vineyards and give it to his officials and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys and put them to his own work. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you have chosen for yourselves, but our Father will not answer you on that day."

Our Father Grants Their Request

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, "No! We want a king over us, ²⁰ so that we may be like all the other nations, with our king to judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

²¹ When Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them to our Father.

²² And our Father said to Samuel, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Each of you, go back to your own town."