1 Samuel 8:16

16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.

1 Samuel 8:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 8:16

And he will take your manservants, and your maidservants,
&c.] Into his own family, for his own use and service, if he wants them, or likes them better than what he has:

and your goodliest young men:
that are tall and lusty, comely and beautiful, of a proper stature and good aspect; and such in all countries used to be chosen for officers in courts, or attendants there; and so the Turks to this day pitch upon young men to attend on great personages, who are of a comely form, have admirable features, and are well shaped, (See Gill on Daniel 1:4),

and your asses, and put them to his work;
employ them in ploughing his fields, drawing his carriages, or bearing his burdens; and so any other cattle that would serve the same purposes, as oxen, camels

1 Samuel 8:16 In-Context

14 And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take a tenth of your sheep; and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out on that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.