1 Samuel 8:6
New International Version
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

New Living Translation
Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance.

English Standard Version
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible
But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

King James Bible
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

New King James Version
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

New American Standard Bible
But the matter was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

NASB 1995
But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

NASB 1977
But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

Legacy Standard Bible
But the thing was evil in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

Amplified Bible
But their demand displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge and rule over us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

Christian Standard Bible
When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the LORD.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand sinful, so he prayed to the LORD.

American Standard Version
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the response was displeasing in the eyes of Shemueil when they said to him, “Give us a King, that he would judge us as all the nations”, and Shemueil prayed before LORD JEHOVAH

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the Lord.

Contemporary English Version
Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king, so he prayed about it.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the word was displeasing in the eyes of Samuel, that they should say: Give us a king, to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

English Revised Version
But the thing displeased Samuel; when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

Good News Translation
Samuel was displeased with their request for a king; so he prayed to the LORD,

International Standard Version
Samuel was displeased when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

JPS Tanakh 1917
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said: 'Give us a king to judge us.' And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.

Literal Standard Version
And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel when they have said, “Give a king to us, to judge us”; and Samuel prays to YHWH.

Majority Standard Bible
But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

New American Bible
Samuel was displeased when they said, “Give us a king to rule us.” But he prayed to the LORD.

NET Bible
But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, "Give us a king to lead us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD.

New Revised Standard Version
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the LORD,

New Heart English Bible
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." Samuel prayed to the LORD.

Webster's Bible Translation
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us: and Samuel prayed to the LORD.

World English Bible
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

Young's Literal Translation
And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, 'Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel Demands a King
5“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.” 6But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 7:5
Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf."

1 Samuel 10:19
But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, 'No, set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans."

1 Samuel 12:12
But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, 'No, we must have a king to rule over us'--even though the LORD your God was your king.

1 Samuel 12:17
Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king."

1 Samuel 15:11
"I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all that night.

Hosea 13:10
Where is your king now to save you in all your cities, and the rulers to whom you said, "Give me a king and princes"?


Treasury of Scripture

But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

1 Samuel 12:17
Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.

prayed

1 Samuel 15:11
It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.

Exodus 32:21,32
And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? …

Numbers 16:15,22,46
And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them…

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Displeased Displeasing Evil Eyes Judge Lead Pleased Prayed Prayer Prayeth Samuel Sight
1 Samuel 8
1. By occasion of the ill government of Samuel's sons, the Israelites ask a king
6. Samuel praying in grief is comforted by God
10. He tells the manner of a king
19. God wills Samuel to yield unto the importunity of the people














(6) The thing displeased Samuel.--It is clear that it was perfectly justifiable in the elders of the people to come to the resolution contained in their petition to Samuel. The Deuteronomy directions contained in 1Samuel 17:14-20 are clear and explicit in this matter of an earthly king for the people, and Moses evidently had looked forward to this alteration in the constitution when he framed the Law. No date for the change is specified, but from the terms of the Deuteronomy words no distant period evidently was looked on to. Then, again, though Samuel was naturally displeased, he at once, as prophet and seer, carried the matter to the God-Friend of Israel in prayer, and the Eternal King at once bids His old true servant to comply with the people's desire.

The displeasure of the prophet-judge was very natural. He felt--this we see from the comforting words his Master addressed to him (see 1Samuel 8:7)--that the people, notwithstanding the vast claims he possessed to their gratitude, craved another and a different ruler, and were dissatisfied with his government. Samuel too was conscious that Israel by its request declined the direct sovereignty of the Eternal. The change to an earthly sovereign had been foreseen, foretold, even arranged for, by Moses, but, in spite of all this, to one like Samuel it was very bitter. It seemed to remove the people from that solitary platform which they alone among nations had been allowed to occupy. They had found by sad experience, as Moses,--"their Rabbi," as the old teachers loved to style him--had predicted, that such a form of government was, alas! unsuited to them, and that they must descend here to the level of ordinary peoples. But though all this was undisputably true, it was very bitter for the hero patriot to give up for ever the splendid Hebrew ideal that his people were the subjects of the Eternal King, ruled directly by Him.

Verse 6. - But the thing displeased Samuel, and justly so. For, in the first place, they had determined to have a king without consulting the will of God. Granting that it would give them the security necessary for the nation's welfare and progress, yet so weighty a matter ought not to have been decided without an appeal to Jehovah. Samuel did make it a matter of prayer; the elders were actuated solely by political motives. And, secondly, they undervalued their own religious privileges. They wanted a king such as the heathen had, whereas something far better and higher was possible for them, namely, a king who would be the representative of Jehovah, as the shophet had hitherto been. The nation's real need was not a new power, but the permanent organisation of what up to this time had been a casual authority. And it was Samuel's high office to give the nation this, while he also changed the outward form of prophecy, and made it too into an orderly institution. A king to judge us. I.e. to govern us, as the shophet or, judge had done, only in a more regularly constituted manner. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah. There had been no such submission to the will of God on the part of the elders; but deeply as Samuel must have been hurt by this determination of the nation to take the government out of the hands of himself and his sons, yet he leaves the decision to Jehovah. Moreover, we must note that it was as prophet that he thus acted as mediator between the people and God; and he gave them his services in this his highest capacity as faithfully when the question was one injurious to himself as he had ever done on more pleasing occasions.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But when
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

they said,
אָמְר֔וּ (’ā·mə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Give
תְּנָה־ (tə·nāh-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

us a king
מֶ֖לֶךְ (me·leḵ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

to judge us,”
לְשָׁפְטֵ֑נוּ (lə·šā·p̄ə·ṭê·nū)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | first person common plural
Strong's 8199: To judge, pronounce sentence, to vindicate, punish, to govern, to litigate

their demand
הַדָּבָר֙ (had·dā·ḇār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

was displeasing
וַיֵּ֤רַע (way·yê·ra‘)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7489: To spoil, to make, good for, nothing, bad

in the sight
בְּעֵינֵ֣י (bə·‘ê·nê)
Preposition-b | Noun - cdc
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

of Samuel;
שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל (šə·mū·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8050: Samuel -- 'name of God', a prophet of Israel

so he
שְׁמוּאֵ֖ל (šə·mū·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 8050: Samuel -- 'name of God', a prophet of Israel

prayed
וַיִּתְפַּלֵּ֥ל (way·yiṯ·pal·lêl)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6419: To judge, to intercede, pray

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the LORD.
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel


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OT History: 1 Samuel 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 8:5
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