1 And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 And the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah; they judged in Beer-sheba. 3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah, 5 and said to him, Behold, thou art become old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now appoint us a king to judge us, like all the nations. 6 And the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to Jehovah. 7 And Jehovah said to 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 reign over them. 8 According to all the deeds that 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. 9 And now hearken unto their voice; only, testify solemnly unto them, and declare unto them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. 10 And Samuel spoke all the words of Jehovah to the people that asked of him a king. 11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, on his chariot and among his horsemen, and they shall run before his chariots; 12 and [he will take them] that he may appoint for himself captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and that they may plough his ground, and reap his harvest, and make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots. 13 And he will take your daughters for perfumers, and cooks, and bakers. 14 And your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, the best, will he take and give to his servants. 15 And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his chamberlains and to his servants. 16 And he will take your bondmen, and your bondwomen, and your comeliest young men, and your asses, and use them for his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your sheep. And ye shall be his servants. 18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye have chosen; and Jehovah will not answer you in that day. 19 And the people refused to hearken to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations; and our king shall judge us, and go out before us, and conduct our wars. 21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of Jehovah. 22 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye every man to his city.
1 Samuel 8 Darby Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abijah
Samuel's second son, appointed with his brother Joel as a judge at Beersheba, who took bribes and perverted justice.
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Chronicles 6:28
Joel
Samuel's firstborn, appointed with his brother Abijah as a judge at Beersheba, who did not walk in his father's ways but took bribes and perverted justice. Through him Samuel was…
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 8:2; 1 Chronicles 6:28; 1 Chronicles 6:33
Cross references (18)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Deuteronomy 16:18–19; 1 Timothy 5:21; Judges 8:22–23; Nehemiah 7:2; Judges 12:14
- 2 Genesis 22:19; 1 Chronicles 6:28; Amos 5:5; 1 Chronicles 6:38; 1 Kings 19:3
- 3 Deuteronomy 16:19; 1 Timothy 6:10; Psalm 15:5; Exodus 18:21; Exodus 23:8
- 4 2 Samuel 5:3; 1 Samuel 7:17; Exodus 24:1; Exodus 3:16
- 5 Deuteronomy 17:14–15; 1 Samuel 8:19–20; 1 Samuel 8:6–8; Hosea 13:10–11; Numbers 23:9
- 6 1 Samuel 15:11; James 1:5; 1 Samuel 12:17; Exodus 32:21; Numbers 16:46
- 7 Luke 10:16; 1 Samuel 10:19; Exodus 16:8; Hosea 13:10–11; Luke 19:14
- 8 Exodus 32:1; Psalm 106:34–40; Judges 6:1; Numbers 14:2–4; Acts 7:51–53
- 9 1 Samuel 10:25; 1 Samuel 8:11–18; Ezekiel 46:18; Ezekiel 3:18; Ezekiel 45:7–8
- 11 1 Samuel 14:52; 1 Samuel 10:25; 2 Samuel 15:1; Deuteronomy 17:14–20; 1 Kings 10:26
- 12 2 Chronicles 32:28–29; 1 Kings 4:27–28; 1 Kings 4:7; 1 Kings 4:22–23; 1 Samuel 22:7
- 14 Ezekiel 46:18; 1 Kings 21:7; 1 Samuel 22:7; 1 Kings 21:19
- 15 Daniel 1:7–10; Isaiah 39:7; Genesis 37:36; Daniel 1:3; Daniel 1:18
- 18 Micah 3:4; Proverbs 1:25–28; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 8:21; Proverbs 21:13
- 19 Jeremiah 44:16; Ezekiel 33:31; Isaiah 66:4; Jeremiah 7:13; Psalm 81:11
- 20 1 Samuel 8:5; Exodus 33:16; Psalm 106:35; Leviticus 20:24–26; Deuteronomy 7:6
- 21 Judges 11:11
- 22 1 Samuel 8:7; Hosea 13:11
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Samuel also died a holy old man, leaving his sons as his successors. I seek for the punishment inflicted upon them, and according to men I find it not: but according to what I know the servants of God suffer every day, they were day by day punished.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)