1 Samuel 3

The LORD calls the boy Samuel

¹The boy Samuel was serving the LORD under Eli. The word of the LORD was rare in those days, and visions were few.

²At that time Eli, whose sight had begun to fail so that he could not see, was lying down in his usual place,^{a 3}and the lamp of God had not yet gone out. Samuel lay in the temple of the LORD, where God’s ark was,

⁴and the LORD called Samuel. He answered, “Here I am.” ⁵He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

⁶Again the LORD called Samuel. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call, my son,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” ⁷Samuel did not yet know the LORD: no word of the LORD had yet been revealed to him. ⁸The LORD called Samuel a third time. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. ⁹So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, then say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back and lay down in his place. ¹⁰The LORD came and took his stand there, and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Judgment on Eli’s family

¹¹The LORD said to Samuel, “Look, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of all who hear of it tingle. ¹²On that day I will carry out against Eli all I have said about his family, from beginning to end. ¹³I told him that I would bring judgment on his family forever, because of the guilt he knew about: his sons were bringing a curse on themselves, and he did not restrain them.^{bc 14}Therefore I have sworn to Eli’s family that no sacrifice or offering will ever make atonement for the guilt of Eli’s family.” ¹⁵Samuel lay there until morning, and then he opened the doors of the LORD’s house. But he was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel. “Samuel, my son!” he said. And Samuel answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁷Eli asked, “What was the message he gave you? Please do not hide it from me. May God deal with you ever so severely if you hide from me anything of all that he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. Eli said, “He is the LORD. Let him do what he sees is good.”

Samuel known as a prophet

¹⁹Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him; he did not let any of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰All Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was a proven prophet of the LORD. ²¹The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, because there at Shiloh he revealed himself to Samuel through the word of the LORD.