God Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel ·served [ministered before] the Lord under Eli. In those days ·the Lord did not speak directly to people very often [^Lthe word from the Lord was rare]; there were very few visions.

² Eli’s eyes were so ·weak [dim] he ·was almost blind [^Lcould not see]. One night he was lying in ·bed [his usual place]. ³ Samuel was ·also in bed [^Llying down] in the Lord’s ·house [sanctuary; temple], where the Ark of God [^Canother name for the Ark of the Covenant; 4:3] was. God’s lamp [^Cprobably the Menorah] ·was still burning [had not yet gone out].

⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel, and he answered, “I am here!” ⁵ He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back ·to bed [and lie down].” So Samuel went back ·to bed [and lay down].

⁶ The 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 [and lie down].”

⁷ Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and ·the Lord had not spoken directly to him yet [^Lthe word of the Lord had not been revealed to him before].

⁸ The 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 [understood; perceived; discerned that] the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ So he told Samuel, “Go ·to bed [lie down]. If he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. ·I am your servant and I am […for your servant is] listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in ·bed [his place].

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there and called as he had before, “Samuel, Samuel!”

Samuel said, “·Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am [^LSpeak, for your servant is] listening.”

¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “Watch, I am going to do something in Israel that will ·shock [^Lmake the ears ring/tingle of] those who hear about it. ¹² ·At that time [^LIn that day] I will ·do to [carry out against] Eli and his ·family [^Lhouse] everything I ·promised [threatened; spoke], from beginning to end. ¹³ I told Eli I would ·punish [judge] his ·family always [^Lhouse forever], because ·he knew his sons were evil [of the sin/iniquity he knew of]. They ·cursed God^[a] [blasphemed], but he did not ·stop [correct; discipline; rebuke] them. ¹⁴ So I swore to Eli’s ·family [^Lhouse], ‘Your ·guilt [sins; iniquity] will never be ·removed [forgiven; atoned for; expiated] by sacrifice or offering.’”

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the ·house [temple] of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision, ¹⁶ but Eli called to him, “Samuel, my son!”

Samuel answered, “I am here.”

¹⁷ Eli asked, “·What did the Lord say [What word/message did he speak/give] to you? Don’t hide it from me. May God ·punish you terribly [^Ldo so to you, and more also,] if you hide from me anything he said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told Eli everything and did not hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He [or It] is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks ·is best [good].”

¹⁹ The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up; he did not let any of Samuel’s ·messages [words] ·fail to come true [^Lfall to the ground]. ²⁰ Then all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba [^Cfrom the extreme north to the extreme south], knew Samuel was ·a true [confirmed/attested as a] prophet of the Lord [Deut. 13:1–5; 18:14–22]. ²¹ And the Lord continued to ·show himself [appear; manifest himself] at Shiloh [1:3], and he ·showed [revealed] himself to Samuel through his word.