1 Samuel 8:19 kjv
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
1 Samuel 8:19 nkjv
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us,
1 Samuel 8:19 niv
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us.
1 Samuel 8:19 esv
But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, "No! But there shall be a king over us,
1 Samuel 8:19 nlt
But the people refused to listen to Samuel's warning. "Even so, we still want a king," they said.
1 Samuel 8 19 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Sam 8:7 | "they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them" | God interprets their action as rejecting Him. |
| 1 Sam 8:18 | "when that day comes, you will cry out... the LORD will not answer you." | Consequences of rejecting God's warning. |
| 1 Sam 10:19 | "you have this day rejected your God, who saves you..." | Direct statement of their rejection of God. |
| Deut 17:14 | "when you come to the land... and say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations'" | Prophecy of Israel's future desire for a king. |
| Hos 13:10-11 | "Where now is your king, that he may save you...? I gave you a king in My anger and took him away in My wrath." | God's response to their humanly chosen king. |
| Judg 8:22-23 | Gideon's refusal of kingship: "The LORD shall rule over you." | Contrast: earlier ideal of God's sole rule. |
| Isa 30:9 | "this is a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD" | General theme of Israel's rebellion. |
| Jer 7:23-24 | "But they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck" | Similar refusal to obey God's voice. |
| Zech 7:11-12 | "But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears..." | Parallel with stubborn refusal. |
| Deut 31:27 | "For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are." | Description of Israel's enduring character. |
| Prov 1:24-25 | "Because I have called and you refused to listen... you have ignored all my counsel" | Wisdom's warning to those who refuse counsel. |
| Luke 19:14 | "But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'" | New Testament parallel to rejecting God's King. |
| John 1:11 | "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him." | Parallel with Israel's rejection of Jesus. |
| Heb 3:7-12 | "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." | Warning against hardening hearts like Israel. |
| 1 Sam 12:12 | "you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us!'" | Samuel's reiteration of their defiant demand. |
| 1 Pet 2:9 | "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation..." | Israel's original call as a distinct people. |
| Rom 1:21 | "for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God..." | Human tendency to disregard divine authority. |
| 2 Tim 4:3-4 | "they will not endure sound doctrine... but will turn away their ears from the truth." | Rejecting sound teaching for preferred desires. |
| Prov 28:13 | "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." | Implication: their refusal to acknowledge wrong. |
| Jer 10:23 | "O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself... It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." | Man's inability to govern himself without God. |
| Matt 23:37 | "How often I wanted to gather your children together... but you were unwilling." | Jesus' lament over Jerusalem's rejection. |
| Psa 81:11-12 | "But My people did not listen to My voice... so I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart." | God allows their choice when they refuse. |
| Deut 15:5 | "if only you listen diligently to the voice of the LORD your God..." | Conditional blessings tied to obedience. |
| Psa 118:8-9 | "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man." | Antithesis to their desire for a human king. |
| Prov 19:21 | "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand." | Man's plans often contrary to God's purpose. |
1 Samuel 8 verses
1 Samuel 8 19 Meaning
1 Samuel 8:19 depicts a pivotal moment where the people of Israel adamantly reject divine guidance, explicitly communicated through the prophet Samuel. Despite Samuel's stark warnings about the burdens and oppressions a human king would bring, the people, in unison, voiced an unwavering refusal to heed him. Their determined "No!" highlights their fixed desire for a king "like all the nations," demonstrating a profound spiritual distrust in God's direct, invisible rule over them. This decision signifies a transition in Israel's history from a theocracy to a monarchy, rooted in their will rather than God's preferred order.
1 Samuel 8 19 Context
This verse is set at a critical juncture in Israel's history, marking the close of the Judges period and the initiation of the monarchy. Following Samuel's advanced age and the corruption of his sons as judges, the elders of Israel approached him, demanding a king "like all the nations" (1 Sam 8:5). This request deeply distressed Samuel, who saw it as a rejection of his leadership. God, however, revealed to Samuel that it was not Samuel but Him whom the people were rejecting (1 Sam 8:7). In response to God's instruction, Samuel diligently warned the people about the exploitative and burdensome nature of a human king: their sons being conscripted for service, daughters taken for domestic roles, fields and vineyards confiscated, and a heavy tax burden (1 Sam 8:11-17). The verse under analysis, 1 Samuel 8:19, is the people's defiant and final reply to Samuel's comprehensive warning, emphatically reiterating their demand for a king.
Word Analysis
- "But" (וַיְמָאֲנ֣וּ, wa·yə·mā·’ă·nū): This conjunction initiates a strong contrast, signaling a direct opposition to what precedes. It implies that despite the clear warning just delivered by Samuel, the people's stance remains unyielding.
- "the people" (הָעָ֗ם, hā·‘ām): This refers to the collective body of Israelite elders and the multitude they represented. The phrasing emphasizes that this was not a fringe group but a unified national demand, indicating widespread spiritual blindness and rebellion.
- "refused to obey" (וַיְמָאֲנ֣וּ לִשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙, wa·yə·mā·’ă·nū liš·mō·w·a‘): The Hebrew verb mā·’an (מאן) means "to refuse, be unwilling, reject." When combined with lishmoa‘ (לשמוע), "to hear" or "to obey," it signifies an active, willful, and absolute rejection of what was said. This is not passive hearing but an intentional withholding of obedience and submission. It reflects their stubbornness and hard-heartedness towards divine counsel.
- "the voice of Samuel" (בְּק֖וֹל שְׁמוּאֵ֑ל, bə·qō·wl šə·mū·’êl): The "voice" (קול, qōl) of Samuel here represents not just his audible words, but his authoritative message, which was God's word communicated through His prophet. Rejecting Samuel's voice was tantamount to rejecting God's word and counsel (cf. 1 Sam 8:7). This polemically demonstrates their preference for human consensus over divine wisdom.
- "No!" (לֹ֗א, lō): This is a direct and emphatic negative. It conveys absolute refusal, leaving no room for negotiation or reconsideration of Samuel's warnings. It signifies a decisive, unwavering choice by the people.
- "But we will have a king over us" (כִּי֩ מֶ֨לֶךְ יִהְיֶ֥ה עָלֵ֖ינוּ, kî me·leḵ yih·yeh ‘ā·lê·nū): The particle kî (כּי) here acts emphatically, almost "for indeed." The phrase "a king over us" (מֶּלֶךְ עָלֵֽינוּ, meleḵ ‘ālēnū) explicitly reiterates their demand from verse 5 and contradicts all of Samuel's detailed warnings about the consequences of having such a ruler. This phrase expresses their strong desire for human visible authority and leadership, aligning themselves with the practices of surrounding nations, prioritizing earthly security and conformity over their unique covenant relationship with God as their true King.
1 Samuel 8 19 Bonus section
The repeated motif of "the people refusing to obey the voice" of the prophet finds strong echoes in the later prophetic books, portraying Israel's consistent pattern of spiritual rebellion. This stubbornness in 1 Samuel 8:19 not only sets the stage for the tumultuous period of the Israelite monarchy but also prefigures the ultimate rejection of God's perfect King, Jesus, centuries later. The divine permissive will, where God grants the desires of the heart even when those desires are not His perfect will (Psa 81:11-12), is a crucial theological point illustrated here. While God acceded to their demand, He also permitted the consequences, thereby teaching Israel, and all future generations, valuable lessons about trusting in Him alone.
1 Samuel 8 19 Commentary
1 Samuel 8:19 encapsulates Israel's fundamental spiritual failure at a critical turning point. It demonstrates the dangerous allure of conformity to worldly standards and the profound human inclination to trust in visible power over unseen divine provision. Despite Samuel's prophetic authority and God's clear warnings about the inevitable burdens and pitfalls of monarchy, the people's stubborn resolve remained unbroken. Their emphatic "No!" and insistent demand for a king reveal a deep-seated rejection of God's theocratic rule, preferring a human sovereign for perceived stability and similarity to other nations. This verse serves as a sober reminder of humanity's tendency to neglect the true source of blessing and security for a fleeting, often detrimental, earthly alternative, echoing across biblical narratives where God's people frequently turn from His perfect will towards self-devised solutions.