I Samuel 3

¹And the child Samuel ministered unto Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.

²And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to wax dim, so that he could not see),

³and the lamp of God was not yet gone out, and Samuel was laid down to sleep, in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was;

⁴that Jehovah called Samuel: and he said, Here am I.

⁵And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

⁶And Jehovah called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

⁷Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither was the word of Jehovah yet revealed unto him.

⁸And Jehovah called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah had called the child.

⁹Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Jehovah; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

¹¹And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

¹²In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end.

¹³For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons did bring a curse upon themselves, and he restrained them not.

¹⁴And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

¹⁵And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.

¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I.

¹⁷And he said, What is the thing thatJehovah hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he spake unto thee.

¹⁸And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what seemeth him good.

¹⁹And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

²⁰And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Jehovah.

²¹And Jehovah appeared again in Shiloh; for Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of Jehovah.

I Samuel 3

¹And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce.

²And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.

³Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was located.

⁴Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”

⁵He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

⁶Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.”

⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy.

⁹“Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

¹¹Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle.

¹²On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his family, from beginning to end.

¹³I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.

¹⁴Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”

¹⁵Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,

¹⁶but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel.

¹⁷“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”

¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”

¹⁹And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

²⁰So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

²¹And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word.