| New Living Translation | King James Bible |
| 1As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. | 1And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. |
| 2Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. | 2Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. |
| 3But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. | 3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. |
| 4Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. | 4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, |
| 5“Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” | 5And 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. |
| 6Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance. | 6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. |
| 7“Do everything they say to you,” the LORD replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. | 7And 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. |
| 8Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. | 8According 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. |
| 9Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.” Samuel Warns against a Kingdom | 9Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. |
| 10So Samuel passed on the LORD’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. | 10And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. |
| 11“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. | 11And 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. |
| 12Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. | 12And 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. |
| 13The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. | 13And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. |
| 14He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. | 14And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. |
| 15He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. | 15And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. |
| 16He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. | 16And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. |
| 17He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. | 17He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. |
| 18When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you.” | 18And 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. |
| 19But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. | 19Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; |
| 20“We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” | 20That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. |
| 21So Samuel repeated to the LORD what the people had said, | 21And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD. |
| 22and the LORD replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home. | 22And 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. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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