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1 Samuel 8:7
ESV And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey 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.
NIV And the LORD told him: 'Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
NASB And the Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people regarding all that they say to you, because they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being King over them.
CSB But the Lord told him, "Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king.
NLT Do everything they say to you,' the Lord replied, 'for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.
KJV And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

What does 1 Samuel 8:7 mean?

The people of Israel have asked Samuel to appoint a king to govern them, in essence asking the judge and prophet to replace himself as their leader (1 Samuel 8:5). Samuel is not pleased and takes the matter to the Lord (1 Samuel 8:6). The Lord now tells Samuel to do as the people are suggesting.

God goes on to assure Samuel that the people are not rejecting him. This makes sense. The Israelites have submitted to Samuel's authority as judge and prophet for decades. They have even brought their proposal for a king to Samuel as an appeal to his authority in the Lord.

No, the Lord tells Samuel, the people of Israel are rejecting Him, the Lord, from being their king. Israel's form of government up to that time had been a theocracy, with the Lord exercising His authority over the nation in all things, from the words and commands of the Law to raising up military leaders in the form of Joshua and the judges and telling them specifically how to engage in battle. The Lord has served Israel as king for many generations. Now they want a human king to take that authority from God.
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