3 The boy Samuel continued to serve the Lord . Eli the priest taught him what to do. In those days, the Lord did not often give his messages to people. He did not often show things to them in visions.
2 Eli's eyes had become weak. He could not see very well. One night, he was sleeping in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God was still burning. [ a ] Samuel was lying down to sleep near the Covenant Box in the Lord 's house. 4 Then the Lord called out to Samuel. Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ 5 Samuel ran to Eli and he said, ‘You called my name. Here I am.’
But Eli said, ‘I did not call your name. Go back and lie down again.’ So Samuel went and he lay down again.
6 Again the Lord called out, ‘Samuel’. So Samuel went to Eli and he said, ‘You called my name. Here I am.’
Eli answered, ‘My son, I did not call your name. Go back and lie down again.’
7 Samuel did not know the Lord yet. The Lord had not spoken to him before. 8 Then the Lord called Samuel's name for the third time. Samuel got up again. He went to Eli and he said, ‘You called my name. Here I am.’
Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy's name. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go back and lie down again. If he calls your name again, you must say, “Speak, Lord . I am your servant and I am listening.” ’ So Samuel went back and he lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and he stood near to Samuel. He called Samuel's name again, as he had done before. He said, ‘Samuel, Samuel’. Samuel said, ‘Speak. I am your servant and I am listening.’ [ b ]
11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to me. I am ready to do something great among the Israelite people. When people hear about it, they will shake with fear. 12 When that day arrives, I will punish Eli and his family in all the ways that I have said. I will start at the beginning and I will continue to the end. 13 I have warned Eli that I would punish his family for all time. He knew that his sons were doing very bad things. They were insulting me, God, and Eli did not stop them. 14 So I made a strong promise and I said, “I will never forgive the sins of Eli's family. No sacrifices or offerings will ever take away those sins.” ’
15 Samuel lay down again until the morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord 's house. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision that he had received from God. 16 But Eli called out to Samuel, ‘Samuel, my son.’ Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’
17 Eli asked Samuel, ‘What message did the Lord speak to you? You must not hide it from me. God will certainly punish you if you do not tell me everything that he said to you.’
18 So Samuel told Eli everything. He did not hide any of God's message. Then Eli said, ‘The Lord . must do what he thinks is right.’
19 The Lord was with Samuel while he continued to grow up. So every message that Samuel spoke became true. 20 In all Israel, from the north to the south, everyone realized that Samuel was truly the Lord 's prophet. [ c ] 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh. He showed himself to Samuel and he spoke to him there.
3 The boy Samuel was Eli’s helper and served the Lord with him. At that time the Lord did not speak directly to people very often. There were very few visions.
2 Eli’s eyes were getting so weak that he was almost blind. One night he went to his room to go to bed. 3 The special lamp in the Lord ’s temple [ a ] was still burning, so Samuel lay down in the temple near where the Holy Box was. 4 The Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 Samuel thought Eli was calling him, so he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”
So Samuel went back to bed. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” Again Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the Lord because the Lord had not spoken directly to him before. [ b ]
8 The Lord called Samuel the third time. Again Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
Finally, Eli understood that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Eli told Samuel, “Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord . I am your servant, and I am listening.’”
So Samuel went back to bed. 10 The Lord came and stood there. He called as he did before, saying, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak. I am your servant, and I am listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “I will soon do things in Israel that will shock anyone who hears about them. 12 I will do everything I said I would do against Eli and his family, everything from the beginning to the end. 13 I told Eli I would punish his family forever. I will do this because Eli knew his sons were saying and doing bad things against God. But he failed to control them. 14 That is why I swore an oath that sacrifices and offerings will never take away the sins of the people in Eli’s family. [ c ] ”
15 Samuel lay down in bed until the morning came. He got up early and opened the doors of the Lord ’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
16 But Eli said to Samuel, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Yes, sir.”
17 Eli asked, “What did God say to you? Don’t hide it from me. God will punish you if you hide anything from the message he spoke to you.”
18 So Samuel told Eli everything. He did not hide anything from him.
Eli said, “He is the Lord . Let him do whatever he thinks is right.”
19 The Lord was with Samuel while he grew up. He did not let any of Samuel’s messages prove false. 20 Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord . 21 And the Lord continued to appear to Samuel at Shiloh. There he told Samuel what he wanted.
3 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord , where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And 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.
6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord , neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord ; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord . And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord : let him do what seemeth him good.
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord .
21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord .
3 Now ( A ) the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord before Eli. And ( B ) word from the Lord was rare in those days; [ a ] visions were infrequent.
2 But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ( C ) his eyesight had begun to be [ b ] poor and he could not see well ), 3 and ( D ) the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was , 4 that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “ ( E ) Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 And the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.” 7 ( F ) Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord , nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. 8 So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord , for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then the Lord came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, ( G ) I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. 12 On that day ( H ) I will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end. 13 For ( I ) I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for ( J ) the wrongdoing that he knew, because ( K ) his sons were bringing a curse on themselves and ( L ) he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ( M ) the wrongdoing of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ( N ) opened the doors of the house of the Lord . But Samuel was afraid to tell ( O ) the vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ( P ) May God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!” 18 So Samuel told him [ c ] everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “ ( Q ) He is the Lord ; let Him do [ d ] what seems good to Him.”
19 Now ( R ) Samuel grew, and ( S ) the Lord was with him, and He ( T ) let none of his words [ e ] fail. 20 And all Israel ( U ) from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord . 21 And ( V ) the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, ( W ) because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord .
3 The boy Samuel ministered ( A ) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; ( B ) there were not many visions. ( C )
2 One night Eli, whose eyes ( D ) were becoming so weak that he could barely see, ( E ) was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp ( F ) of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house ( G ) of the Lord , where the ark ( H ) of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am. ( I ) ” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know ( J ) the Lord : The word ( K ) of the Lord had not yet been revealed ( L ) to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord , for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel! ( M ) ”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. ( N ) 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything ( O ) I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, [ a ] and he failed to restrain ( P ) them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned ( Q ) for by sacrifice or offering.’”
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord . He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide ( R ) it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, ( S ) if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord ; let him do what is good in his eyes.” ( T )
19 The Lord was with ( U ) Samuel as he grew ( V ) up, and he let none ( W ) of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba ( X ) recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord . ( Y ) 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed ( Z ) himself to Samuel through his word.
