The elders said Samuel was old and his sons did not walk in his ways, so they asked for a king to judge them like the nations. The Lord told Samuel the people had rejected him as king over them. 1 Samuel 8:4–7
In 1 Samuel 8:4–7, Israel’s elders come to Samuel at Ramah and ask for a king. They present Samuel’s age and his sons’ failure to follow his ways as reasons, and they want a ruler who will “judge” them like surrounding nations. Samuel is upset by the request and takes it to Yahweh in prayer. This scene sits in the larger turning point where Israel moves from leadership by judges toward monarchy. Just before this, Samuel has appointed his sons as judges, and their wrongdoing sets up dissatisfaction with the current arrangement.
The passage presents a national-level request: Israel’s elders come together and ask Samuel for a king (explicit). Their stated reasons are Samuel’s age and the failure of his sons to live by his standards (explicit).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with 1 Samuel 8:4-7, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel to Ramah;
5and they said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons don`t walk in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Samuel prayed to Yahweh.
7Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people in all that they tell you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them.