He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.
Parallel translations
- WEB He will take one tenth of your flocks; and you will be his servants.
- KJV He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
- NKJV He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.
- NASB He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants.
- NLT He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The king will take a tenth of their flocks, and the people themselves will become his servants.
Overview
The warning climaxes with the stark statement that Israel will become the king's slaves. The people who sought a king 'like the nations' will find themselves in servitude rather than security. This reverses the freedom God gave them at the Exodus.
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 8:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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