1 Samuel 8
The full text of 1 Samuel 8 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel's leaders.
2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second son was Abijah, and they served as judges at Beersheba.
3 But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain, accepted bribes, and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.
5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
8 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.
9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights."
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.
11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariots.
12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and 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 attendants.
15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.
16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.
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 for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day."
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us.
20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD.
22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to your own town."
Translation notes (5)
- 1 Samuel 8:1a The word "leaders" translates the word for judges. This refers to Samuel setting his sons over Israel, just as he himself had judged.
- 1 Samuel 8:5a The phrase "such as all the other nations have" is the central part of the people's request. This demand to be like other nations is what Samuel and the LORD will consider.
- 1 Samuel 8:7a The statement "They have rejected me as their king" is the theological core of the story about the king. The demand for a human king is understood as a rejection of the LORD's direct rule. The text presents this without resolving the tension with later promises of a king (compare chapters 9-10 and 2 Samuel 7).
- 1 Samuel 8:9a The phrase "what the king will claim as his rights" translates "the custom/justice of the king." Verses 11-18 describe the burdensome practices of monarchy.
- 1 Samuel 8:16a The phrase "the best of your cattle" follows the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. The standard Hebrew text reads "your best young men," which was probably a copyist's error influenced by the surrounding words.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
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