1 Samuel 3:1-4:11

English Standard Version

The Lord Calls Samuel

3 ^(A)Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. ^(B)And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

² At that time Eli, ^(C)whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. ^3 (D)The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down ^(E)in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵ and 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.

⁶ And 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.” ⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸ And 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. ⁹ Therefore 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.

¹⁰ And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel ^(F)at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² On that day I will fulfill against Eli ^(G)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13 (H)And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, ^(I)because his sons were blaspheming God,^{[a] (J)}and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore I swear to the house of Eli ^(K)that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶ But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. ^(L)May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(M)“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

^19 (N)And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him ^(O)and let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(P)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel ^(Q)at Shiloh ^(R)by the word of the Lord.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at ^(S)Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at ^(T)Aphek. ² The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. ³ And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here ^(U)from Shiloh, that it^[b] may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴ So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, ^(V)who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵ As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel ^(W)gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶ And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, ⁷ the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸ Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. ^9 (X)Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews ^(Y)as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

¹⁰ So the Philistines fought, ^(Z)and Israel was defeated, ^(AA)and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ^11 (AB)And the ark of God was captured, ^(AC)and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.