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The elders said to Samuel, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live right. They are not like you. Now, give us a king to rule us like all the other nations.”

So the elders asked for a king to lead them. Samuel thought this was a bad idea, so he prayed to the Lord. The Lord told Samuel, “Do what the people tell you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me. They don’t want me to be their king.

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They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king(A) to lead[a](B) us, such as all the other nations(C) have.”

But when they said, “Give us a king(D) to lead us,” this displeased(E) Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen(F) to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,(G) but they have rejected me as their king.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 8:5 Traditionally judge; also in verses 6 and 20