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1 Samuel 8:5

Authority and leadershipTemptation

3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.

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Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
KJV
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.
WEB
They said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons don’t walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
ASV
and they 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.
DARBY
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.
BLB
and they said to him, “Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint to us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
ÅB
Og de sa til ham: Nå er du blitt gammel, og dine sønner vandrer ikke på dine veier; så sett nå en konge over oss til å dømme oss, som alle folkene har!
OTB
De sa til ham: "Du er gammel, og dine sønner følger ikke dine veier. Sett en konge til å styre over oss, slik som alle de andre folkene har."
B1930
Og de sa til ham: Nu er du blitt gammel, og dine sønner vandrer ikke på dine veier; så sett nu en konge over oss til å dømme oss, som alle folkene har!

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Deuteronomy 17:14–15

    When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”

    Read in context

  • 1 Samuel 8:19–20

    Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us.

    Read in context

  • 1 Samuel 8:6–8

    But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

    Read in context

  • Hosea 13:10–11

    Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, “Give me a king and princes”?

    Read in context

  • Numbers 23:9

    For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations.

    Read in context

  • 1 Samuel 12:17

    Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.”

    Read in context

  • Acts 13:21

    Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.

    Read in context