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
The LORD Calls Samuel
1The boy Samuel was serving the Lord under Eli. In those days a prophecy from the Lord was rare; visions were infrequent. 2One night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn’t see well. 3The lamp in God’s temple #3:3 According to Exodus 27:21, each night the priests were to light a lamp in the tent of meeting which was to burn from dusk to dawn. hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was kept.
4Then the Lord called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. 5He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
“I didn’t call ⌞you⌟,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back and lay down.
6The Lord called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
“I didn’t call ⌞you⌟, son,” he responded. “Go back to bed.” 7Samuel had no experience with the Lord, because the Lord’s word had not yet been revealed to him.
8The Lord called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9“Go, lie down,” Eli told Samuel. “When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his room.
10The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”
11Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am going to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. 12On that day I am going to do to Eli and his family everything I said from beginning to end. 13I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God #3:13 Ancient scribal tradition, Greek, and Latin; Masoretic Text “cursing themselves.” At times some scribes would alter the text when they thought it was disrespectful to God.—but he didn’t try to stop them. 14That is why I have taken an oath concerning Eli’s family line: No offering or sacrifice will ever ⌞be able to⌟ make peace for the sins that Eli’s family committed.”
15Samuel remained in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.
16Then Eli called Samuel. “Samuel, my son!” he said.
“Here I am,” he responded.
17“What did the Lord tell you?” he asked. “Please don’t hide anything from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.”
18So Samuel told Eli everything.
Eli replied, “He is the Lord. May he do what he thinks is right.”
19Samuel grew up. The Lord was with him and didn’t let any of his words go unfulfilled. 20All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew Samuel was the Lord’s appointed prophet. 21The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, since the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the Lord’s word. And Samuel spoke to all Israel.#3:21 This sentence is the first part of 1 Samuel 4:1 in the Hebrew Bible and most English Bibles.
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