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Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah. They served as judges at Beer-sheba. 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways. Instead, they turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. So appoint for us a king to govern us like all the other nations.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to govern us,” Samuel was displeased, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; it is not you they have not rejected, they have rejected Me as their king. 8 Just like all the deeds they have done, from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you also. 9 Now listen to them, however you must solemnly warn them and reveal to them the practices of the king who will reign over them.”
10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: he will take your sons and assign them for himself to serve in his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint for himself commanders over thousands and commanders over fifties, and some to plough his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 He will take your menservants and your maidservants, and your best young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 Then you will cry out on that day because of the king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not listen to you on that day.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want to have a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations: our king will rule over us, and go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to them and give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to his city.”