1 Samuel 3
3
The Lord Calls Samuel
1 # ch. 2:11, 18 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. #[ver. 21; Ps. 74:9; Amos 8:11]And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2At that time Eli, #ch. 4:15; Gen. 27:1; 48:10; [Deut. 34:7]whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3#Ex. 27:20, 21; Lev. 24:2, 3; 2 Chr. 13:11 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down #ch. 1:9in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel #2 Kgs. 21:12; Jer. 19:3at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12On that day I will fulfill against Eli #See ch. 2:30-36all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13#[See ver. 12 above] And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, #ch. 2:12, 17, 22 because his sons were blaspheming God,#3:13 Or blaspheming for themselves #ch. 2:23-25and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli #[Isa. 22:14]that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. #[Ruth 1:17]May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, #[2 Sam. 10:12; Job 1:21; 2:10; Ps. 39:9; Isa. 39:8]“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 # See ch. 2:21 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him #[ch. 9:6]and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel #See 2 Sam. 3:10from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel #[Josh. 18:1] at Shiloh #ver. 1, 4by the word of the Lord.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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1 Samuel 3
3
God Calls Samuel
1The boy Samuel served the Lord under Eli. In those days the Lord did not speak directly to people very often; there were very few visions.
2Eli’s eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed. 3Samuel was also in bed in the Lord’s house, where the Ark of the Agreement was. God’s lamp was still burning.
4Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, “I am here!” 5He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.
6The Lord called again, “Samuel!”
Samuel again went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Again Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.”
7Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the Lord had not spoken directly to him yet.
8The Lord called Samuel for the third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”
Then Eli realized the Lord was calling the boy. 9So he told Samuel, “Go to bed. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in bed.
10The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.”
11The Lord said to Samuel, “Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will shock those who hear about it. 12At that time I will do to Eli and his family everything I promised, from beginning to end. 13I told Eli I would punish his family always, because he knew his sons were evil. They acted without honor, but he did not stop them. 14So I swore to Eli’s family, ‘Your guilt will never be removed by sacrifice or offering.’ ”
15Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, 16but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!”
Samuel answered, “I am here.”
17Eli asked, “What did the Lord say to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God punish you terribly if you hide from me anything he said to you.” 18So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.”
19The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel’s messages fail to come true. 20Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord. 21And the Lord continued to show himself at Shiloh, and he showed himself to Samuel through his word.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.