New King James Version
1 Samuel 8:5
5and 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.”
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 Living Translation (NLT)“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.”
Context of 1 Samuel 8:5
3But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 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.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
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 8:6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.
- 1 Samuel 12:17Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the Lord, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking a king for yourselves.”
- Numbers 23:9For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, Not reckoning itself among the nations.
- Deuteronomy 17:14“When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’
- Hosea 13:10I will be your King; Where is any other, That he may save you in all your cities? And your judges to whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’?
- Acts 13:21And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries