1 Samuel 8:7
in 1 Samuel 8And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah 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 be king over them.
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 8
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThey have rejected me - They wish to put that government in the hands of a mortal, which was always in the hands of their God. But hearken unto their voice - grant them what they request. So we find God grants that in his displeasure which he withholds in his mercy.
This site's exposition
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me
on 1 Samuel 8:7-9
The Lord reframes the request at once: they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. Verse 8 sets the request inside Israel's whole history since Egypt, one more turn in a pattern of forsaking older than Samuel himself. God still tells Samuel to grant it, and to warn them first, so the manner of the king that follows is not a threat invented for the occasion but the plain cost of trading a divine king for a human one.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They were indeed so much the more exposed to calamities if they provoked God to anger by sin, and found they could not transgress at so cheap a rate as other nations could, which perhaps was the true reason why they desired to stand upon the same terms with God that other nations did.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל | shemuel | Samuel | H8050 → | 141 times |
| שְׁמַע֙ | shema' | listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּק֣וֹל | bekol | to [the] voice of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לְכֹ֥ל | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | what | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֹאמְר֖וּ | yomeru | they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֶ֑יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֹֽתְךָ֙ | ʾotekha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָאָ֔סוּ | maasu | they have rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֹתִ֥י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָאֲס֖וּ | maasu | they have rejected | H3988 → | 76 times |
| מִמְּלֹ֥ךְ | mimelokh | from reigning | H4427 → | 348 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | over them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁמוּאֵ֔לSamuel
shemuelH8050 →141 times
שְׁמַע֙listen
shema'H8085 →1159 times
בְּק֣וֹלto [the] voice of
bekolH6963 →506 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
לְכֹ֥לto all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁר־what
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יֹאמְר֖וּthey will say
yomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלֶ֑יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֹֽתְךָ֙<obj.> you
ʾotekhaH853 →10935 times
מָאָ֔סוּthey have rejected
maasuH3988 →76 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֹתִ֥י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
מָאֲס֖וּthey have rejected
maasuH3988 →76 times
מִמְּלֹ֥ךְfrom reigning
mimelokhH4427 →348 times
עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃over them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Luke 10:16Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8
Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 13:20
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”
- Matthew 10:40
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:8
Through
Luke 19:27And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
it leads to
- Psalms 21:8–9
Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- Luke 19:14
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
- Numbers 16:30–35
But if the LORD brings about something unprecedented, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them so that they go down alive into Sheol, then you will…
- Matthew 22:7
The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
- Psalms 21:8–9
Through
Exodus 16:8And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings…
it leads to
- Romans 13:2
Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
- Romans 13:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
By subject
Kingdom of God35 verses
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.