1 Samuel 3
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Calls Samuel
3 Now (A)the young boy Samuel was ministering to Yahweh before Eli. And (B)word from Yahweh was rare in those days; [a]visions were infrequent.
2 And it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now (C)his eyesight had begun to fade, and he could not see well), 3 and (D)the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of Yahweh where the ark of God was, 4 that Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “(E)Here I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; go back, lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Then Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he [b]answered, “I did not call, my son; go back, lie down.” 7 (F)Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, nor had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him. 8 So Yahweh called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that Yahweh was calling the young boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then Yahweh came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your slave is listening.” 11 And Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, (G)I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day (H)I will establish against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 And (I)I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for (J)the iniquity which he knew because (K)his sons have been bringing a curse on themselves, but (L)he did not rebuke them. 14 Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that (M)the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he (N)opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell (O)the vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And he said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. (P)May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “(Q)It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.”
19 Thus (R)Samuel grew, and (S)Yahweh was with him and (T)let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 So all Israel (U)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh. 21 And (V)Yahweh appeared again at Shiloh, (W)because Yahweh revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Yahweh.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:1 Lit no vision spread abroad
- 1 Samuel 3:6 Lit said
1 Samuel 3
Common English Bible
Samuel’s call
3 Now the boy Samuel was serving the Lord under Eli. The Lord’s word was rare at that time, and visions weren’t widely known. 2 One day Eli, whose eyes had grown so weak he was unable to see, was lying down in his room. 3 God’s lamp hadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s temple, where God’s chest[a] was.
4 The Lord called to Samuel. “I’m here,” he said.
5 Samuel hurried to Eli and said, “I’m here. You called me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go lie down.” So he did.
6 Again the Lord called Samuel, so Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?”
“I didn’t call, my son,” Eli replied. “Go and lie down.”
(7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know the Lord, and the Lord’s word hadn’t yet been revealed to him.)
8 A third time the Lord called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “I’m here. You called me?”
Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down where he’d been.
10 Then the Lord came and stood there, calling just as before, “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel said, “Speak. Your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of all who hear it tingle! 12 On that day, I will bring to pass against Eli everything I said about his household—every last bit of it![b] 13 I told him that I would punish his family forever because of the wrongdoing he knew about—how his sons were cursing God,[c] but he wouldn’t stop them. 14 Because of that I swore about Eli’s household that his family’s wrongdoing will never be reconciled by sacrifice or by offering.”
15 Samuel lay there until morning, then opened the doors of the Lord’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel, saying: “Samuel, my son!”
“I’m here,” Samuel said.
17 “What did he say to you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide anything from me. May God deal harshly with you and worse still if you hide from me a single word from everything he said to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.
“He is the Lord, ” Eli said. “He will do as he pleases.”
19 So Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not allowing any of his words to fail. 20 All Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was trustworthy as the Lord’s prophet. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh because the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh through the Lord’s own word.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:3 Traditionally ark
- 1 Samuel 3:12 Or the beginning and the end
- 1 Samuel 3:13 LXX; MT to themselves, one of several intentional scribal corrections to avoid the phrase cursing God
1 Samuel 3
King James Version
3 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
17 And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good.
19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.
21 And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
1 Samuel 3
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:3 palace or temple
- 1 Samuel 3:13 Lit. rebuke
- 1 Samuel 3:15 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX adds and he arose in the morning
- 1 Samuel 3:19 fail
- 1 Samuel 3:20 confirmed
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
