¹ It happened, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

² Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beersheba.

³ His sons didn't walk in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah;

⁵ and 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."

⁶ But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

⁷ Yahweh said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.

⁸ According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, in that they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also to you.

⁹ Now therefore listen to their voice: however you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the way of the king who shall reign over them."

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of Yahweh to the people who asked of him a king.

¹¹ He said, "This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them to him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;

¹² and he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and [he will set some] to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.

¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

¹⁴ He will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive groves, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

¹⁵ He will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

¹⁶ He will take your male servants, and your female servants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

¹⁷ He will take the tenth of your flocks: and you shall be his servants.

¹⁸ You shall cry out in that day because of your king whom you shall have chosen you; and Yahweh will not answer you in that day."

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No; but we will have a king over us,

²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."

²¹ Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of Yahweh.

²² Yahweh said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and make them a king." Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city."