New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
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Now when Samuel was old, he 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 Beer-sheba.
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The name of his first son was Joel and the name of his second Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba.
3 Yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.
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And his sons did not go in his ways, but moved by the love of money took rewards, and were not upright in judging.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,
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Then all the responsible men of Israel got together and went to Samuel at Ramah,
5 and said to him, "You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations."
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And said to him, See now, you are old, and your sons do not go in your ways: give us a king now to be our judge, so that we may be like the other nations.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." Samuel prayed to the Lord,
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But Samuel was not pleased when they said to him, Give us a king to be our judge. And Samuel made prayer to the Lord.
7 and the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
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And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to the voice of the people and what they say to you: they have not been turned away from you, but they have been turned away from me, not desiring me to be king over them.
8 Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you.
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As they have done from the first, from the day when I took them out of Egypt till this day, turning away from me and worshipping other gods, so now they are acting in the same way to you.
9 Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them."
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Give ear now to their voice: but make a serious protest to them, and give them a picture of the sort of king who will be their ruler.
10 So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.
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And Samuel said all these words of the Lord to the people who were desiring a king.
11 He said, "These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots;
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And he said, This is the sort of king who will be your ruler: he will take your sons and make them his servants, his horsemen, and drivers of his war-carriages, and they will go running before his war-carriages;
12 and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
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And he will make them captains of thousands and of fifties; some he will put to work ploughing and cutting his grain and making his instruments of war and building his war-carriages.
13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
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Your daughters he will take to be makers of perfumes and cooks and bread-makers.
14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers.
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He will take your fields and your vine-gardens and your olive-gardens, all the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers.
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He will take a tenth of your seed and of the fruit of your vines and give it to his servants.
16 He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work.
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He will take your men-servants and your servant-girls, and the best of your oxen and your asses and put them to his work.
17 He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
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He will take a tenth of your sheep: and you will be his servants.
18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day."
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Then you will be crying out because of your king whom you have taken for yourselves; but the Lord will not give you an answer in that day.
19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, "No! but we are determined to have a king over us,
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But the people gave no attention to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No, but we will have a king over us,
20 so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles."
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So that we may be like the other nations, and so that our king may be our judge and go out before us to war.
21 When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.
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Then Samuel, after hearing all the people had to say, went and gave an account of it to the Lord.
22 The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and set a king over them." Samuel then said to the people of Israel, "Each of you return home."
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And the Lord said to Samuel, Give ear to their voice and make a king for them. Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, Let every man go back to his town.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.