Bible Strands
1 Samuel 8:21
Samuel listened to all the words of the people and repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Samuel stands before the assembled elders of Israel at the moment they demand a human monarch to judge them and fight their battles (1 Samuel 8:20). He does not immediately grant or deny the request but first relays their collective petition to God.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּשְׁמַע (va-yishma) denotes attentive reception of a request, while the prepositional phrase בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוָה (be-aznei YHWH) literally means "in the ears of the LORD." These terms frame Samuel’s action as a formal judicial relay of the people’s demands for divine review.
The thread — This mediation pattern appears in Judges 11:11, where Jephthah carries the elders’ words to him before a covenantal appointment. It establishes the prophetic protocol of bringing communal petitions before God prior to executing any institutional change (1 Samuel 8:22).
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that legitimate authority defers to divine scrutiny rather than acting on popular consensus. It asks the reader to present personal or corporate desires to God for evaluation before moving forward.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.
Cross-references
- Judges 11:11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.