1 Samuel 8:5

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

3The sons didn’t follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice. 4Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.” 6But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7The Lord told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me.

1 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 8:6But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the Lord.
• 1 Samuel 12:17Isn’t the wheat being harvested today? I will call on the Lord, and he’ll send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what a wicked thing you did in the Lord’s presence when you asked for a king.”
• Numbers 23:9I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, I look at them from the hills. I see a nation that lives by itself, people who do not consider themselves to be like other nations.
• Deuteronomy 17:14You will enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take possession of it and live there. You will say, “Let’s have our own king like all the other nations around us.”
• Hosea 13:10“Where, now, is your king, the one who is supposed to save you? Where in all your cities are your judges? You said, ‘Give us kings and officials!’
• Acts 13:21“Then the people demanded a king, so God gave them Saul, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. After forty 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

• Abia
• Government
• Israel
• Judge
• Rulers
• Samuel

In the dictionaries

• King
• Manner
• Samuel
• Samuel, Books of
• Saul
• Sharpen
• Israel, History of
• Judah, Kingdom of
• Judges, Period of
• Samuel, Books of

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