I Samuel 3

¹Now the young Samuel was the servant of the Lord before Eli. In those days the Lord kept his word secret from men; there was no open vision.

²And at that time, when Eli was resting in his place, (now his eyes were becoming clouded so that he was not able to see,)

³And the light of God was still burning, while Samuel was sleeping in the Temple of the Lord where the ark of God was,

⁴The voice of the Lord said Samuel's name; and he said, Here am I.

⁵And running to Eli he said, Here am I, for you said my name. And Eli said, I did not say your name; go to your rest again. So he went back to his bed.

⁶And again the Lord said, Samuel. And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, Here am I; for you certainly said my name. But he said in answer, I said nothing, my son; go to your rest again.

⁷Now at that time Samuel had no knowledge of the Lord, and the revelation of the word of the Lord had not come to him.

⁸And for the third time the Lord said Samuel's name. And he got up and went to Eli and said, Here am I; for you certainly said my name. Then it was clear to Eli that the voice which had said the child's name was the Lord's.

⁹So Eli said to Samuel, Go back: and if the voice comes again, let your answer be, Say on, Lord; for the ears of your servant are open. So Samuel went back to his bed.

¹⁰Then the Lord came and said as before, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel made answer, Say on, Lord; for the ears of your servant are open.

¹¹And the Lord said to Samuel, See, I will do a thing in Israel at which the ears of everyone hearing of it will be burning.

¹²In that day I will do to Eli everything which I have said about his family, from first to last.

¹³And you are to say to him that I will send punishment on his family for ever, for the sin which he had knowledge of; because his sons have been cursing God and he had no control over them.

¹⁴So I have made an oath to the family of Eli that no offering of meat or of meal which they may make will ever take away the sin of his family.

¹⁵And Samuel kept where he was, not moving till the time came for opening the doors of the house of God in the morning. And fear kept him from giving Eli an account of his vision.

¹⁶Then Eli said, Samuel, my son. And Samuel answering said, Here am I.

¹⁷And he said, What did the Lord say to you? Do not keep it from me: may God's punishment be on you if you keep from me anything he said to you.

¹⁸Then Samuel gave him an account of everything, keeping nothing back. And he said, It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.

¹⁹And Samuel became older, and the Lord was with him and let not one of his words be without effect.

²⁰And it was clear to all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba that Samuel had been made a prophet of the Lord.

²¹And the Lord was seen again in Shiloh; for the Lord gave to Samuel in Shiloh the revelation of his word.

I Samuel 3

¹The child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

²It happened at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),

³and the lamp of God hadn't yet gone out, and Samuel had lain down in the Lord's temple, where the ark of God was;

⁴that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, "Here I am."

⁵He ran to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." He said, "I did not call; lie down again." He went and lay down.

⁶The Lord called yet again, "Samuel!" Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."

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

⁸The Lord called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; for you called me." Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, 'Speak, Lord; for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰The Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak; for your servant hears."

¹¹The Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it shall tingle.

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

¹³For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he did not restrain them.

¹⁴Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be removed with sacrifice nor offering forever."

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

¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel, and said, "Samuel, my son!" He said, "Here I am."

¹⁷He said, "What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you."

¹⁸Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, "It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him."

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

²⁰All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.

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