He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, to be cooks, and to be bakers. He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even their best, and give them to his servants. He will take one tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give it to his officers, and to his servants. He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys, and assign them to his own work. He will take one tenth of your flocks; and you will be his servants. You will cry out in that day because of your king whom you will have chosen for yourselves; and Yahweh will not answer you in that day.”
Show the surrounding paragraph
1 Samuel 8:11-18 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Samuel told all Yahweh’s words to the people who asked him for a king. He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots. He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, to be cooks, and to be bakers. He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even their best, and give them to his servants. He will take one tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give it to his officers, and to his servants. He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys, and assign them to his own work. He will take one tenth of your flocks; and you will be his servants. You will cry out in that day because of your king whom you will have chosen for yourselves; and Yahweh will not answer you in that day.”
Parallel Translations
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He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots.
He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers, to be cooks, and to be bakers.
He will take your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, even their best, and give them to his servants.
He will take one tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give it to his officers, and to his servants.
He will take your male servants, your female servants, your best young men, and your donkeys, and assign them to his own work.
He will take one tenth of your flocks; and you will be his servants.
You will cry out in that day because of your king whom you will have chosen for yourselves; and Yahweh will not answer you in that day.”
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And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
Show all 3 translations
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And he said: 'This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots.
And he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
And he will take your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your flocks; and ye shall be his servants.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not answer you in that day.'
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (34)
- 1 Samuel 14:52 (v11) There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him into…
- Ezekiel 46:18 (v14) Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession. He shall give inheritance to his…
- Micah 3:4 (v18) Then they will cry to Yahweh, but he will not answer them. Yes, he will hide his face from them at that time, because they made their deeds…
- 1 Samuel 10:25 (v11) Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before Yahweh. Samuel sent all the…
- 1 Kings 21:7 (v14) Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let your heart be merry. I will give you…
Show all 33 cross-references
- Proverbs 1:25-28 (v18) but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes…
- Isaiah 1:15 (v18) When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of…
- Deuteronomy 17:14-20 (v11) When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me, like…
- 2 Samuel 15:1 (v11) After this, Absalom prepared a chariot and horses for himself, and fifty men to run before him.
- 1 Kings 10:26 (v11) Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he kept in…
- Isaiah 8:21 (v18) They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king…
- 1 Samuel 22:7 (vv12, 14) Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards?…
- Genesis 37:36 (v15) The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
- 1 Kings 1:5 (v11) Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to…
- 1 Kings 4:7 (v12) Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month…
- 1 Kings 4:22-23 (v12) Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, sixty measures of meal, ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of…
- 1 Kings 4:27-28 (v12) Those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who came to king Solomon’s table, every man in his month. They let nothing be…
- 1 Kings 12:4 (v11) “Your father made our yoke difficult. Now therefore make the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter,…
- 1 Kings 12:10 (v11) The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Tell these people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but…
- 1 Kings 18:46 (v11) Yahweh’s hand was on Elijah; and he tucked his cloak into his belt and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
- 1 Kings 21:19 (v14) You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says,…
- 1 Chronicles 27:1-22 (v12) Now the children of Israel after their number, the heads of fathers’ households and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their…
- 2 Chronicles 26:10-15 (v11) He built towers in the wilderness, and dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock; in the lowland also, and in the plain. He had…
- 2 Chronicles 32:28-29 (v12) also storehouses for the increase of grain, new wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of animals, and flocks in folds. Moreover he…
- Job 27:9 (v18) Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him?
- Psalms 18:41 (v18) They cried, but there was no one to save; even to Yahweh, but he didn’t answer them.
- Proverbs 21:13 (v18) Whoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he will also cry out, but shall not be heard.
- Isaiah 39:7 (v15) ‘They will take away your sons who will issue from you, whom you shall father, and they will be eunuchs in the king of Babylon’s palace.’ ”
- Daniel 1:3 (v15) The king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, even of the royal offspring…
- Daniel 1:7-10 (v15) The prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to…
- Daniel 1:18 (v15) At the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.
- Luke 13:25 (v18) When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying,…
- 1 Kings 9:22-23 (v11) But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and…
33 distinct cross-references across this passage (34 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv11, 15, 18 Not that kings have this authority by their office,…
Not that kings have this authority by their office, but that such as reign in God’s wrath should usurp this over their brethren, contrary to the law, Deut. 17:20.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–18 1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the…
1Sa 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint [them] for himself, for his chariots, and [to be] his horsemen; and [some] shall run before his chariots.
Ver. 11. This will be the manner.] Loquitur hic non tam de iure quam de more. The prophet here speaketh not so much of the office of a king what he ought to be, as of the manner of his rule, and what he is like to be: and it proved accordingly, as they soon found, {1Ki 12:4} and more cause they had afterwards: many of their kings being of Nero’s mind, who ruled by lust, rather than law: and like Constantius, who, commanding certain orthodox bishops to communicate with the Arians, yielded no other but this, Quod ego volo, pro Canone sit; Do as I bid, or get you into banishment. Claudian gave his Honorius better counsel -
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“ Tu civem patremque geras, tu consule cunctis,
Non tibi; nec tua te moveant, sed publica damna. ”
He will take your sons.] Perforce, and without any considerable recompense: as the Turk doth at this day.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–18 He will take your sons, to wit, injuriously and…
He will take your sons, to wit, injuriously and by violence, as this Hebrew word is oft used, as Gen 20:3; 27:36; Job 5:5; and so it must be here; because otherwise the king would have no more privilege than any of his subjects; for any man might take a son with his own or parents’ consent.
And to be his horsemen, or, and for his horses; for so the Hebrew word parash sometimes signifies, as Isa 21:7,9; 28:28; to ride his horses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–18 And he said, this will be the manner of…
And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you,.... Not in which he ought to proceed, but what he will do: and this not the manner of one king, or of the first only, but of all of them, more or less; of kings in general, who are commonly inclined to arbitrary power. So Aristotle (a) in opposition to theocracy, describes a full and absolute kingdom, as he calls it, when a king does all things according to his will: and observes, that he that would have the mind or reason preside, would have God and the laws rule; but he that would have a man to reign, adds also a lust, or one led by his own lust: so it follows:
he will take your sons, and appoint them for himself; for his own use and service, to wait upon him, to be his pages, or grooms, or guards:
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for his chariots; to take care of them, and drive them, though not without paying them for it; yet this being but a mean and servile employment, and what they should be obliged to, whether they would or no, is observed to show the tyranny and bondage to which they would be subject, when their sons otherwise might be free men, and possessed of estates and carriages of their own:
and to be his horsemen; or rather "for his horses", to take care of them, and go out along with him, and attend his person, whether when going to war, or on pleasure:
and some shall run before his chariots; be his running footmen, being swift of foot, and trained up for that service; some are naturally swift, as Asahel was Sa2 2:18. Pliny (b) speaks of some swifter than horses; and of the swiftness of some he elsewhere gives (c) many surprising instances. It seems as if it was usual to have fifty such men to run before them, see Sa2 15:1.
(a) In Politicis, l. 3. c. 16. (b) Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 2. (c) Ibid. c. 20.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11–18 Will take - Injuriously and by violence.
Will take - Injuriously and by violence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 14, 16 1Sa 8:11. He will take your sons — Injuriously,…
1Sa 8:11. He will take your sons — Injuriously, and by violence. And appoint them for himself — To attend him as the guards of his body, and in other offices. This shows that he speaks of the arbitrary power which the kings in those days used. And therefore Samuel doth not say absolutely, I will show you the manner (Hebrews משׂפת, mispeth, judgment, or right) of a king, as if it were a right belonging to all kings, but, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: or, such will be the consequence of your having kings. They will indeed be like those of the neighbouring nations, puffed up with their authority, haughty, arbitrary, and tyrannical: and you will find yourselves in a state of oppression and servitude. For his chariots, and to be his horsemen — To look after his chariots and his horses. Some shall run before his chariots — As his footmen.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv12, 14 This organization was as old as the time of…
This organization was as old as the time of Moses Num 31:14; Deu 1:15, and prevailed among the Philistines also 1Sa 29:2. The civil and military divisions were identical, and the civil officers were the same as the captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, in time of war.
To ear his ground - literally, “to plow his plowing.” “To ear” is an old English word, now obsolete, for to plow.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Chariots; to be drivers, (Menochius) or will make them…
Chariots; to be drivers, (Menochius) or will make them fight from them. --- Footmen, or guards. Xenophon places 4000 armed with bucklers before, and 2000 with lances all round the chariot of Cyrus. See chap. xxii. 17.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11–14 This will be the manner of the king--The following…
This will be the manner of the king--The following is a very just and graphic picture of the despotic governments which anciently and still are found in the East, and into conformity with which the Hebrew monarchy, notwithstanding the restrictions prescribed by the law, gradually slid.
He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself--Oriental sovereigns claim a right to the services of any of their subjects at pleasure.
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some shall run before his chariots--The royal equipages were, generally throughout the East (as in Persia they still are), preceded and accompanied by a number of attendants who ran on foot.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11, 18 11. This will be the manner of the king…
11. This will be the manner of the king — משׁפשׂ, judgment, right, claim. The judgment or manner of the king is what he would claim as his prerogative and right. 1Sa_8:11-17 contain a statement of what an eastern king, like those of the nations around Israel, would claim. The items of his claim (which extends both to the persons and properly of his subjects) may be classified thus: 1. Over their persons; to seize them arbitrarily for his court-servants and attendants, (1Sa_8:11,) and appoint them to his military, agricultural mechanical, or domestic service, (1Sa_8:12-13.) 2. Over their property, whether it consist in lands, harvests, slaves, or beasts. 1Sa_8:14-17. Here are presented the main features of an absolute monarchy; but observe, they are set forth as the possible manner or judgment of the king himself, not as divine or God-given rights which every king must claim. In Deu_17:16-20, we learn that the king of Jehovah’s choice must in divers ways be limited in his power.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–18 11. This will be the manner of the king]…
11. This will be the manner of the king] Or, “the right of the king;” such prerogatives as an absolute monarch claims.
We have here a vivid picture of the tyranny of an Oriental despot whose subjects are at his disposal for (1) court retainers, (2) military officers, (3) cultivators of the royal estates, (4) artificers in the arsenal, (5) domestics in the royal household. (6) Their property is liable to arbitrary seizure, beside (7) regular exactions of tithe, in order to enrich court favourites, and (8) their slaves and their cattle may at any time be pressed into the royal service. Under such a despotism political and social freedom is at an end. Prosperous as was Solomon’s reign, it tended in this direction. See 1Ki_5:13-18; 1Ki_12:4.
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and appoint them] This may be rendered either as the E. V. or, and set them for himself upon his charlots and upon his chargers. Service in the retinue of the king rather than in the army appears to be meant.
some shall run before his chariots] A body of runners was a regular sign of regal state (2Sa_15:1; 1Ki_1:5).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18 (11) And he said, This will be the manner…
(11) And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you.—In obedience to the word of the Lord, Samuel, the judge of Israel, without blaming the people for their desire, quietly asks them if they were in real earnest—if they had fully considered the grave changes which such an appointment as that of a sovereign over the nation would bring about in the constitution. Were they willing to exchange their Republican freedom for the condition of subjection to a sovereign who, after the manner of those other kings of foreign nations—the Pharaohs, for instance—would of course govern Israel after his own will? in other words, were they really willing to give up their Republic for a Despotism?
In this whole transaction of the appointment of an earthly king in Israel, we must not forget that although under the present circumstances of Israel it was the best course to pursue, and, as such, received the Divine sanction, yet it was giving up the old grand ideal of a nation dwelling on earth ruled over directly by a King whose throne and home were in the eternal heavens. The glorious hope had to be given up, because Israel had been tried and found unworthy to share in the undreamed-of blessings of such a Government.
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He will take your sons.—Here follows a graphic picture of the changed life of the people under a despotic monarch. They must be prepared, must those elders, for a court—a gorgeous court such as they had heard of, and perhaps some of them had seen on the banks of the Nile, the Euphrates, or the Tigris; all that was best and choicest in Israel would be summoned there. The old pastoral life would disappear; the dwelling under their own vines and fig-trees would give place to a very different way of living; the pleasures and vices of a gay and brilliant city life would allure the sons and daughters. and tempt them from the old simple way of living, dear to so many in Israel. War, too, on a scale they hitherto had never dreamed of, would be their portion—all these heavy burdens would become the heritage of Israel if they chose to imitate in their government the nations of the world. Had they thought of all this when they asked for a king?
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–18 This will be the manner of the king. On…
This will be the manner of the king. On the meaning of this word see 1Sa_2:13. Here also it signifies not so much the legal right itself, as the way in which that right was exercised. His chariots. The word is singular, both here and at the end of the verse, and though it may be taken, as in the A.V, for a collective noun, "his chariotry," yet the singular is better, because this verse does not refer to war, but to the personal magnificence and grandeur of the king. Instead of the old simplicity in which the judges had lived, he would have a state chariot, (see 2Ki_9:21) and go forth escorted by horsemen and runners on foot. To be his horsemen. Rather, "upon his homes." The whole clause should be translated, "And he will set them for him (i.e. for his service) upon his chariot and on his horses; and they will run before his chariot."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 16 Connecting Statement:
Connecting Statement:
Samuel continues to tell what things the king will take.
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to be perfumers
"to make good-smelling oils to put on his body"
olive orchards
"fields of olive trees"
a tenth of your grain
They will have to divide their grain into ten equal parts and give one of those parts to the king's officers and servants. (See: Fractions)
a tenth ... of your vineyards
They will have to divide the wine that they produce in their vineyards into ten equal parts and give one of those parts to the king's officers and servants. (See: Fractions)
officers
These are the leaders of the king's army.
translationWords
vineyard
olive
servant
tenth
grain
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 12, 15, 17, 18 8:11 While the people wanted a king to judge…
8:11 While the people wanted a king to judge them, Samuel warned that the king would reign over them. They wanted a leader but received a ruler.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.