¹⁸ Now Samuel was serving the Lord. He was a young boy, clothed in a linen priestly vest.^{[a] 19} His mother would make a small robe for him and take it to him every year when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife: “May the Lord replace^[b] the child of this woman that you gave back to the Lord.” Then they would return home.

²⁶ Meanwhile, the boy Samuel kept growing up and was more and more liked by both the Lord and the people.