1Sa 8, 1Sa 13 | ESV | STEP | When Samuel became old , he made his sons judges over Israel .

1 When Samuel became old, ^ahe made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways ^bbut turned aside after gain. ^cThey took bribes and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at ^dRamah 5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. ^eNow appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, ^ffor they have not rejected you, ^gbut they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. 9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them ^hand show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”

Samuel’s Warning Against Kings

10 So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. 11 He said, ⁱ“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: ^jhe will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some ^kto plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 ^lHe will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men ^{▼▼Septuagint cattle} and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, ⁿbut the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

The Lord Grants Israel’s Request

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 ^othat we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, ^p“Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

1 Samuel 13

Saul Fights the Philistines

1 Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, ^{▼▼Hebrew Saul was one year old when he became king, and he reigned two years over Israel (see 1 Samuel 10:6); some Greek manuscripts give Saul’s age when he began to reign as thirty years} 2 Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in ^rMichmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in ^sGibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. 3 Jonathan defeated ^tthe garrison of the Philistines that was ^uat Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul ^vblew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” 4 And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal.

5 And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops ^wlike the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of ^xBeth-aven. 6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves ^yin caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, 7 and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice

8 ^zHe waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, ^aa“You have done foolishly. ^abYou have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now ^acyour kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man ^adafter his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince ^{▼▼Or leader} over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” 15 And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew lacks The rest of the people . . . from Gilgal} to ^agGibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, ^ahabout six hundred men. 16 And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in ^aiGeba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17 And ^ajraiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; 18 another company turned toward ^akBeth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of ^alZeboim toward the wilderness.

19 ^amNow there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” 20 But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew plowshare} 21 and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel ^{▼▼Hebrew was a pim} for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams} for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain} 22 So on the day of the battle ^arthere was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. 23 And ^asthe garrison of the Philistines went out to the ^atpass of ^auMichmash.