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The Blue Letter Bible

1 Samuel 8 :: New International Version (NIV)

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Israel Asks for a King

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:1 - When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:2 - The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:3 - But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:4 - So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:5 - They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead[fn] us, such as all the other nations have.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:6 - But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:7 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:8 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:9 - 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:10 - Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:11 - He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:12 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:13 - He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:14 - He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:15 - He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:16 - Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle[fn] and donkeys he will take for his own use.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:17 - He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:18 - 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:19 - But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:20 - 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:21 - When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 8:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 8:22 - The LORD answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”
See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NIV Footnotes
Traditionally judges
Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20
Septuagint; Hebrew young men
NIV

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.


See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

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1 Samuel Chapter 8 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras