1 Samuel 8:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day."

NIV: 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."

NASB: Then you will cry out on that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you on that day.'

CSB: When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day."

NLT: When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”

Samuel comes to the end of this extended "fair warning" about what the Israelites should expect from an earthly, human king. They had never had a human king before. Instead, the Lord had been Israel's Ruler, blessing them when they were faithful to Him and turning them over to their enemies when they served foreign gods.

The Lord wanted Samuel to give this legal-sounding disclaimer to the people before they decided finally that they wanted a human king to rule over them. Since human kings have absolute authority and power in their kingdoms, Samuel warned the Israelites about how power can be abused. In fact, the more power given to a human leader, the more likely they are to abuse it. Israel is cautioned that kings will take their children as servants and their property and a percentage of their harvest and flocks. In general, they are gaining a "chain of command" but sacrificing their freedom in almost every other way. They would exist to serve the king to whatever degree the king demanded it.

Finally, Samuel warns that when these things happen, the Lord will not answer the cries of the people for help. They will have chosen this for themselves (1 Samuel 8:4–5). Since the people want to be like the other nations in having powerful kings, they will suffer like the citizens of other nations under the heavy hand of human rulers.

First Samuel 8:10–18 describes a solemn, legal warning Samuel gives the elders of Israel. He cautions about all the things a human king will take from them. He will take their sons and daughters as his servants, their land for his officials, and a percentage of their crops and flocks. In many ways, Samuel officially warns the Israelites that they will become slaves to their own king. When that happens and they cry out to the Lord, He will not answer them because they will have chosen this for themselves.

Samuel is old, and his sons are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather in Ramah to ask Samuel to appoint a king over them. Samuel resists, but the Lord tells the prophet to do as the people have said after warning them about what a king will take from them. The list includes their children, property, fields, crops, and freedom. The Lord will not save them from their king, Samuel warns. The elders insist they still want a king like all the other nations. The Lord agrees and tells Samuel to provide them one.

First Samuel 8 jumps forward in time perhaps thirty years from the events of the previous chapter. Samuel is now old and his sons, also judges, are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather to ask Samuel to appoint a king for them. Samuel doesn't like it, but he takes the request to the Lord. The Lord tells Samuel to do it, even though the people are rejecting Him as their king. Samuel warns the elders of all the things a king will take from them to serve himself. The elders still insist, and the Lord grants their request.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.