Welcome to Young Heretics, where today we are talking about bad kings.

Now a reading from the first book of Samuel, chapter 8.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Rama and said to him,

you are old, and your sons do not follow in your ways. A point for us then, a king to

govern us, like other nations. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said,

give us a king to govern us. Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel,

listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, but they have not rejected

you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Just as they have done to me

from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day for saking me and serving other

gods, and also they are doing this to you. Now then, listen to their voice, only you

shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.

So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.

He said, these will be the ways of the king who will reign over you. He will take your

sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.

And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties and

some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war and the

equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and

bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them

to his courtyards. He will take one tenth of your grain and of your vineyard and give

it to his officers and his courtyards. He will take your male and female slaves and the

best of your cattle and donkeys and put them to his work. He will take one tenth of your

flocks and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your

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