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 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.
2Eli’s eyes were getting so weak that he was almost blind. One night he went to his room to go to bed. 3The special lamp in the Lord’s temple#3:3 temple This could mean the Holy Tent at Shiloh where people went to worship the Lord or a larger area where they put the Holy Tent. was still burning, so Samuel lay down in the temple near where the Holy Box was. 4The Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5Samuel 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. 6Again 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.”
7Samuel did not yet know the Lord because the Lord had not spoken directly to him before.#3:7 the Lord … him before Literally, “the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.”
8The 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. 9Eli 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. 10The 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.”
11The Lord said to Samuel, “I will soon do things in Israel that will shock anyone who hears about them. 12I will do everything I said I would do against Eli and his family, everything from the beginning to the end. 13I 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. 14That is why I swore an oath that sacrifices and offerings will never take away the sins of the people in Eli’s family.#3:14 Or “That is why I swore an oath that Eli’s family would not be forgiven for their sins against the offerings and sacrifices.””
15Samuel 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.
16But Eli said to Samuel, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Yes, sir.”
17Eli 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.”
18So 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.”
19The Lord was with Samuel while he grew up. He did not let any of Samuel’s messages prove false. 20Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was a true prophet of the Lord. 21And the Lord continued to appear to Samuel at Shiloh. There he told Samuel what he wanted.
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