EasyEnglish Bible 2018
1 Samuel 8:5
5They said to him, ‘You are old. Your sons do not live in the way that you have done. All the other nations have kings to lead them. So choose a king to rule over us, like they have.’
1 Samuel 8:5 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)and said to him, "Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations."
- New King James Version (NKJV)and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
Context of 1 Samuel 8:5
3But Samuel's sons did not live in a good way, as Samuel had done. They took money from people in ways that were not honest. They accepted bribes so that they did not judge in a fair way. 4So all of Israel's leaders went together to meet Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ‘You are old. Your sons do not live in the way that you have done. All the other nations have kings to lead them. So choose a king to rule over us, like they have.’ 6When Israel's leaders said, ‘Choose a king who will lead us,’ Samuel was not happy. So he prayed to the Lord. 7The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to everything that the people are saying to you. I myself should be their king. So it is not you that they refuse to accept. It is me that they do not accept to be their king.
Read all of 1 Samuel 81 Samuel 8:5 word by word
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו הִנֵּה֙ אַתָּ֣ה זָקַ֔נְתָּ וּבָנֶ֕יךָ לֹ֥א הָלְכ֖וּ בִּדְרָכֶ֑יךָ עַתָּ֗ה שִֽׂימָה־לָּ֥נוּ מֶ֛לֶךְ לְשָׁפְטֵ֖נוּ כְּכָל־הַגּוֹיִֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto him, Behold, thou art oldזָקֵןzâqên · be oldH2204
- and thy sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- walkהָלַךְhâlak · to go: walkH1980
- not in thy waysדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
- now makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: appointH7760
- us a kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- to judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
- us like all the nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 8:5
- 1 Samuel 8:6When Israel's leaders said, ‘Choose a king who will lead us,’ Samuel was not happy. So he prayed to the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 12:17This is the time of the wheat harvest. I will ask the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will understand that you have done an evil thing against the Lord. You asked for a king to rule over you.’
- Numbers 23:9When I stand on the rocks, I can see the Israelites. I can watch them from the hills. They are people who are separate from other nations.
- Deuteronomy 17:14You are going into the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. You will take it for yourselves to be your home. Then you may say, ‘The other nations around us have kings. We must also have a king to rule us.’
- Hosea 13:10What has happened to your king? He cannot save you! Where are your rulers? You asked me to give you rulers like the other nations have. You said, “Give us a king and rulers.”
- Acts 13:21Then the people of Israel asked Samuel to choose a king for them. So God gave Saul to them as their king. Saul was the son of Kish and he was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled Israel for 40 years.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 8:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Make us a king - Hitherto, from the time in which they were a people, the Israelites were under a theocracy, they had no other king but God. Now they desire to have a king like the other nations around them, who may be their general in battle; for this is the point at which they principally aim.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-9Verses 4-9 Samuel was displeased; he could patiently bear what reflected on himself, and his own family; but it displeased him when they said, Give us a king to judge us, because that reflected upon God. It drove him to his knees. When any thing disturbs us, it is our interest, as well as our duty, to show our trouble before God. Samuel is to tell them that they shall have a king. Not that God was pleased with their request, but as sometimes he opposes us…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways: Judges were usually local leaders. But kings, as national leaders, could unite the entire nation during crises (1 Samuel 8:20). However, a spiritual issue was behind the request for a king (1 Samuel 8:7–8). Other nations, like Egypt and Sumer, were ruled by kings for nearly 2,000 years before Samuel’s time.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-181Sa 8:1-18. Occasioned by the Ill- Government of Samuel's Sons, the Israelites Ask a King. 1-5. when Samuel was old--He was now about fifty-four years of age, having discharged the office of sole judge for twelve years. Unable, from growing infirmities, to prosecute his circuit journeys through the country, he at length confined his magisterial duties to Ramah and its neighborhood (1Sa 7:15), delegating to his sons as his deputies the administration of…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 8:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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