1 AND it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And 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.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
7 And the Lord 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 reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
10 And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto 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, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to 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 which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.
22 And the Lord 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.

1And it came to passe, when Samuel was old, that he made his sonnes Iudges ouer Israel.

2Now the name of his first borne was Ioel, and the name of his second, Abiah: they were Iudges in Beer-sheba.

3And his sonnes walked not in his wayes, but turned aside after lucre, and tooke bribes, & peruerted iudgement.

4Then all the Elders of Israel gathered themselues together, and came to Samuel vnto Ramah,

5And said vnto him, Behold, thou art olde, and thy sonnes walke not in thy wayes: now make vs a King to iudge vs, like all the nations.

6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Giue vs a King to iudge vs: and Samuel prayed vnto the Lord.

7And the Lord said vnto Samuel, Hearken vnto the voyce of the people in all that they say vnto thee: for they haue not reiected thee, but they haue reiected mee, that I should not reigne ouer them.

8According to all the works which they haue done since the day that I brought them vp out of Egypt euen vnto this day, wherewith they haue forsaken me, and serued other gods: so doe they also vnto thee.

9Nowe therefore hearken vnto their voyce: howbeit, yet protest solemnly vnto them, and shew them the maner of the King that shall reigne ouer them.

10 And Samuel told all the words of the Lord vnto the people, that asked of him a King.

11And hee sayd, This will be the maner of the king that shall reigne ouer you: Hee will take your sonnes, and appoint them for himselfe for his charets, and to bee his horsemen, and some shall runne before his charets.

12And hee will appoint him Captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer fifties, and will set them to eare his ground, and to reape his haruest, and to make his instruments of warre, and instruments of his charets.

13And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cookes, and to be bakers.

14And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliue-yards, euen the best of them, and giue them to his seruants.

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

16And hee will take your men seruants, and your mayd seruants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his worke.

17Hee will take the tenth of your sheepe, and ye shall be his seruants.

18And ye shall cry out in that day, because of your king which ye shall haue chosen you; and the Lord will not heare you in that day.

19 Neuerthelesse, the people refused to obey the voyce of Samuel; and they said, Nay, but we will haue a King ouer vs:

20That we also may be like all the nations, and that our King may iudge vs, and goe out before vs, and fight our battels.

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

22And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken vnto their voyce, and make them a King. And Samuel said vnto the men of Israel, Goe yee euery man vnto his citie.

I == Deut 16:18 ' Judg 10:4 ; 12:14

 

 

 

 

 

 

V == Deut 17:14 ; 1st Sam 7:19-20 ; Hos 13:10 ; Acts 13:21

 

 

 

VII == Ex 16:8 ; 1st Sam 10:19 ; 12:17 , 19 ; 12:17 , 19 ; Hos 13:10-11

 

 

 

 

 

IX == 1st Sam 8:11

 

 

 

 

XI == Deut 17:16 ; 1st Sam 10:25 ; 14:52

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == 1st Kings 21:7 ; Ezek 46:18

 

XV == Gen 37:36

 

 

 

 

 

XVIII == Prov 1:25-28 ; Isa 1:15 ; Mic 3:4

 

XIX == Jer 44:16

 

 

XX == 1st Sam 8:5

 

 

 

XXII == 1st Sam 8:7 ; Hos 13:11

1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons judges over Israel.

2 His first-born was named Joel, his second son, Abijah; they judged at Beer-sheba.

3 His sons did not follow his example but sought illicit gain and accepted bribes, perverting justice.

4 Therefore all the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramah

5 and said to him, "Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us."

6 Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them. He prayed to the LORD, however,

7 who said in answer: "Grant the people's every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.

8 As they have treated me constantly from the day I brought them up from Egypt to this day, deserting me and worshiping strange gods, so do they treat you too.

9 Now grant their request; but at the same time, warn them solemnly and inform them of the rights of the king who will rule them."

10 Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full to those who were asking him for a king.

11 He told them: "The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows: He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses, and they will run before his chariot.

12 He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers. He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.

13 He will use your daughters as ointment-makers, as cooks, and as bakers.

14 He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his officials.

15 He will tithe your crops and your vineyards, and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves.

16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best oxen and your asses, and use them to do his work.

17 He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves.

18 When this takes place, you will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but on that day the LORD will not answer you."

19 The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel's warning and said, "Not so! There must be a king over us.

20 We too must be like other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles."

21 When Samuel had listened to all the people had to say, he repeated it to the LORD,

22 who then said to him, "Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them." Samuel thereupon said to the men of Israel, "Each of you go to his own city."

v 1-3. Eli had failed to discipline his sons and they were a failure. Samuel may have taught his sons well, but apparently he placed them as judges while their interest lay in business. As a result, they enriched themselves by taking bribes in judging.

v 4,5. The corruption of Samuel’s sons was the catalyst behind the request of the  elders, but the real motive was the desire to have a king like other nations. This reminds of present day youth who say, “All the other kids are wearing them. All the other kids are doing it. All the other kids go there.” Though Samuel was old, it was unfair after his years of fine leadership to suggest he resign.

v 6-9. Samuel was offended and took the matter to the Lord. The Lord assured him that they really were seeking a king instead of seeking to follow the Lord. Samuel was to give them their wish, but first point out the problems this choice would bring.

 

v 10-18. The problems stated by Samuel are self explanatory and did come to pass in future years. The fact, v 18, that they would some day cry out because of the oppression by their king, is summed up in Psalm 106:15, and speaks to our own requests in prayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 19-22. From a human standpoint, the people may have felt justified in asking for a king to lead in their battles. The trouble with Nahash in chapter 11 may have already been threatening, because 12:12 quotes Samuel that when Nahash, king of Ammon came against them, they asked for a king. They seem to have forgotten the great victory the Lord had given over the Philistines several years before, in chapter 7. They may have remembered only that Samuel was their leader then and now he is getting old. The people rejected Samuel’s advice and he reported it to the Lord. The Lord told Samuel to protest, but go ahead and appoint a king, but didn’t say how at this point. The Lord often leads just a step at a time.
The Lord had said they would have a king, Gen. 49:10; Deut. 17:14-20, and if they had waited on the Lord’s timing, He would have given them one. See my comments at the end of chapter 10 about the line of Judah not yet being eligible.