1 Samuel 8:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey their voice and make them a king." Samuel then said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

NIV: The Lord answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the Israelites, "Everyone go back to your own town."

NASB: And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to their voice and appoint a king for them.' So Samuel said to the men of Israel, 'Go, every man to his city.'

CSB: "Listen to them," the Lord told Samuel. "Appoint a king for them." Then Samuel told the men of Israel, "Each of you, go back to your city."

NLT: and the Lord replied, 'Do as they say, and give them a king.' Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

This chapter provides an example of conversation about a difficult subject, between the people of Israel and the Lord. The elders of Israel appropriately bring their request to God's representative. (1 Samuel 8:4–5). This man, Samuel, sees their request for a king as evil. He knows they are not seeking God's will; they are imitating the cultures around them. Yet Samuel properly takes the issue to God (1 Samuel 8:6). The Lord tells Samuel to listen to the people and tell them their request is granted. However, they first must hear about all the things human kings take from their people, including children, property, and freedom itself (1 Samuel 8:7–18).

The people listen to the warning but still insist on having a king, giving Samuel clear reasons why (1 Samuel 8:19–20). While those reasons are not bad, themselves, the people are not guiding their decision spiritually. They are looking at the world, not God, for their guidance. Samuel properly reports this to the Lord, who now instructs Samuel to follow the desire of the people and make a king for them.

Samuel returns to the elders gathered in Ramah to present this proposal. Samuel presumably tells them God's verdict and then tells them all to go home. Israel's first king is anointed in the following chapter (1 Samuel 9).

First Samuel 8:19–22 describes the response of Israel's elders to Samuel's solemn warning from the Lord about human kings. The Israelites still insist on having a king. They want to be like the cultures around them, with a single leader to judge them and lead them in battle. When Samuel reports this to the Lord, God tells the prophet to do as the people have said and appoint a king for them. Samuel sends the elders back to their homes from Ramah.

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.