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Samuel Is Born and Dedicated
Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her.
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So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”
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Samuel’s Childhood Ministry
But Samuel ministered before the Lord, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.
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And the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the Lord.
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And the child Samuel grew in stature, and in favor both with the Lord and men.
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Samuel’s First Prophecy
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
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and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,
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that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!”
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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.”
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(Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)
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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.
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Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
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Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”
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Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
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So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
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Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He answered, “Here I am.”
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Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
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So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
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And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord.
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Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
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The Death of Eli
And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. The Ark of God Captured
Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek.
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Samuel Judges Israel
So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.
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Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.”
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And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”
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So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.
