Samuel’s First Prophecy

3 Now ^(A)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And ^(B)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. ² And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow ^(C)so dim that he could not see, ³ and before ^(D)the lamp of God went out in the ^[a]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, ⁴ that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” ⁵ So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

⁶ Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”

So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ (Now Samuel ^(E)did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ^(F)‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel ^(G)at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day I will perform against Eli ^(H)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13 (I)For I have told him that I will ^(J)judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because ^(K)his sons made themselves vile, and he ^(L)did not ^[b]restrain them. ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house ^(M)shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until ^[c]morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷ And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(N)God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” ¹⁸ Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(O)“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ So Samuel ^(P)grew, and ^(Q)the Lord was with him ^(R)and let none of his words ^[d]fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(S)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been ^[e]established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by ^(T)the word of the Lord.

Zophar’s Sermon on the Wicked Man

20 Then ^(A)Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:

Obedience by Faith

5 Whoever believes that ^(A)Jesus is the Christ is ^(B)born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. ² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and ^(C)keep His commandments. ^3 (D)For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And ^(E)His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For ^(F)whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that ^(G)has overcome the world—^[a]our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but ^(H)he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

⁶ This is He who came ^(I)by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. ^(J)And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷ For there are three that bear witness ^[b]in heaven: the Father, ^(K)the Word, and the Holy Spirit; ^(L)and these three are one. ⁸ And there are three that bear witness on earth: ^(M)the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

⁹ If we receive ^(N)the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; ^(O)for this is the witness of ^[c]God which He has testified of His Son. ¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God ^(P)has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God ^(Q)has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ^12 (R)He who has the Son has ^[d]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, ^[e]and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that ^(S)if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁶ If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and ^(T)He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. ^(U)There is sin leading to death. ^(V)I do not say that he should pray about that. ^17 (W)All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

¹⁸ We know that ^(X)whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God ^(Y)keeps^{[f] [g]}himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.

¹⁹ We know that we are of God, and ^(Z)the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

²⁰ And we know that the ^(AA)Son of God has come and ^(AB)has given us an understanding, ^(AC)that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. ^(AD)This is the true God ^(AE)and eternal life.

²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.