1 Samuel 8:11-18

8:11 He said, “Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot. 8:12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, ¹  as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment. 8:13 He will take your daughters to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers. 8:14 He will take your best fields and vineyards and give them to his own servants. 8:15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators ²  and his servants. 8:16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. 8:17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 8:18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you in that day.” ³ 

1 Samuel 8:1

Israel Seeks a King

8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel.

1 Raja-raja 4:20-28

Solomon’s Wealth and Fame

4:20 The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. 4:21 (5:1) ⁴  Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River ⁵  to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. ⁶  4:22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed ⁷  thirty cors ⁸  of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, 4:23 ten calves fattened in the stall, ⁹  twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. 4:24 His royal court was so large because ¹⁰  he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah ¹¹  to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. ¹²  4:25 All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon’s lifetime. ¹³  4:26 Solomon had 4,000 ¹⁴  stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. 4:27 The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace. ¹⁵  Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking. 4:28 Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses. ¹⁶ 

[8:12]  ¹ tc The numbers of v. 12 are confused in the Greek and Syriac versions. For “fifties” the LXX has “hundreds.” The Syriac Peshitta has “heads of thousands and heads of hundreds and heads of fifties and heads of tens,” perhaps reflecting influence from Deut 1:15.

[8:15]  ² tn Or “eunuchs” (so NAB); NIV “officials”; KJV, NASB, NRSV, NLT “officers.”

[8:18]  ³ tc The LXX adds “because you have chosen for yourselves a king.”

[4:21]  ⁴ sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.

[4:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.

[4:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”

[4:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “the food of Solomon for each day was.”

[4:22]  ⁸ tn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.

[4:23]  ⁹ tn The words “in the stall” are added for clarification; note the immediately following reference to cattle from the pasture.

[4:24]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.

[4:24]  ¹¹ sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.

[4:24]  ¹² tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”

[4:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “Judah and Israel lived securely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer Sheba, all the days of Solomon.”

[4:26]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew text has “40,000,” but this is probably an inflated number (nevertheless it is followed by KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, CEV). Some Greek mss of the OT and the parallel in 2 Chr 9:25 read “4,000” (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).

[4:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “everyone who drew near to the table of King Solomon.”

[4:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “barley and straw for the horses and the steeds they brought to the place which was there, each according to his measure.”