ng, and when he was old he set his sons
judges on Israel, whose names were Joel and Abiah. And these two his
sons walked not in his ways, but declined after covetise and took gifts
and perverted justice and doom. Then assembled and gathered together all
the greatest of birth of the children of Israel, and came to Samuel and
said: Lo! thou art old and thy sons walk not in thy ways, wherefore
ordain to us a king that may judge and rule us like as all other nations
have. This displeased much to Samuel when they said, Ordain on us a
king. Then Samuel counselled on this matter with our Lord, to whom God
said: Hear the voice of the people that speak to thee: they have not
cast only thee away, but me, that I should not reign on them, for they
do now like as they ever have done sith I brought them out of Egypt unto
this day; that is that they have served false gods and strange, and so
do they to thee. Notwithstanding hear them, and tell to them tofore, the
right of the king, and how he shall oppress them.

Samuel told all this to the people that demanded to have a king, and
said: This shall be the right of a king that shall reign on you. He
shall take your sons and make them his men of war, and set them in his
chariots and shall make them his carters and riders of his horse in his
chariots and carts, and shall ordain of them tribunes and centurions,
earers and tillers of his fields, and mowers and reapers of his corn,
and he shall make them smiths, and armorers of harness and cars, and he
shall also take your daughters and make them his unguentaries [makers of
perfumes], and ready at his will and pleasure; he shall also take from
you your fields and vineyards and the best olives and give them to his
servants, and he shall task and dime [tithe] your corn and sheaves, and
the rents of your vineyards he shall value for to give to his officers
and servants, and shall take from you your servants, both men and women,
and set them to his works. And your asses and beasts he also shall take
to his labor, your flocks of sheep he shall task and take the tenth or
what shall please him, and ye shall be to him thrall and servants. And
ye shall cry then wishing to flee from the face of yaur king, and our
Lord shall not hear you nor deliver you because ye have asked for you a
king. Yet for all this the people would not hear Samuel, but said: Give
to us a king, for a king shall reign on us, and we shall be as all other
people be. And our king sh