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1 Samuel 8:12
ESV 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.
NIV Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
NASB He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to gather in his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
CSB He can appoint them for his use as commanders of thousands or commanders of fifties, to plow his ground and reap his harvest, or to make his weapons of war and the equipment for his chariots.
NLT Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment.
KJV And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

What does 1 Samuel 8:12 mean?

The people have asked for a human king to rule over them instead of having God as their ruler (1 Samuel 8:4–5). Samuel is warning them, from the Lord, what it will cost to have an earthly, human king. For one, he has said, the king will take their sons to serve as chariot riders and runners.

Now Samuel warns that the king will lay claim to all kinds of Israel's citizens to serve him in all kinds of ways. He will appoint some to honored positions of military service, including commanders of various groups. He will also claim some to work his farms and others to build weapons for warfare. Though some of these positions may be highly sought after, Samuel's point seems to be that those selected will lose the freedom of deciding what they want to do with their time and energy. The king will simply claim them as his own.
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