1 Samuel 8:21

21 Samuel listened to all the people's words and then repeated them to the Lord.^[a]

1 Samuel 8:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 8:21

And Samuel heard all the words of the people
Patiently, and without interruption; attentively heard them, took notice of them, laid them up in his memory; but gave no answer to them, but reported them to the Lord, as in the next clause:

and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord;
privately, in a free and familiar manner, with great exactness, as they were expressed; this he did, not before the people publicly, but in secret prayer, seeking for direction what he should further do, or what answer he should return to them.

1 Samuel 8:21 In-Context

19 The people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We must have a king over us.

20 Then we'll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles."

21 Samuel listened to all the people's words and then repeated them to the Lord.

22 "Listen to them," the Lord told Samuel. "Appoint a king for them." Then Samuel told the men of Israel, "Each of you, go back to your city."

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit them in the Lord's ears