1-2 Samuel had two sons. The elder one was Joel, and the younger one was Abijah. When Samuel was getting old, he let them be leaders at Beersheba.
3 But they were not like their father. They were dishonest and accepted bribes to give unfair decisions.
4 One day the nation's leaders came to Samuel at Ramah
5 and said, “You are an old man. You set a good example for your sons, but they haven't followed it. Now we want a king to be our leader, just like all the other nations. Choose one for us!”
6 Samuel was upset to hear the leaders say they wanted a king, so he prayed about it.
7 The Lord answered:Samuel, do everything they want you to do. I am really the one they have rejected as their king.