Then Elkanah went to his home at Ramah. But the boy continued to attend to the service of the Lord before Eli the priest.

The Sin of Eli’s Sons

Now the sons of Eli were useless men; they did not know the Lord.

And so the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men treated the offering of the Lord disrespectfully.

Samuel before the Lord as a Boy

Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord, as a boy wearing a linen ephod.

Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the Lord give you children from this woman in place of the one she requested of the Lord.” And they went to their own home.

The Lord indeed visited Hannah, and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up before the Lord.

No, my sons; for the report is not good which I hear the Lord’s people circulating.

If one person sins against another, God will mediate for him; but if a person sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death.

Now the boy Samuel was continuing to grow and to be in favor both with the Lord and with people.

Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh’s house?

Therefore the Lord God of Israel declares, ‘I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father was to walk before Me forever’; but now the Lord declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be insignificant.

The Prophetic Call to Samuel

Now the boy Samuel was attending to the service of the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days; visions were infrequent.

and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was,

that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”

And the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.”

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him.

So the Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.

And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Then the Lord came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”

Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.

So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “He is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

Now Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and He let none of his words fail.

And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.

And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.