Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

The Prophetic Call to Samuel

3 Now ^(A)the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And ^(B)word from the Lord was rare in those days, ^[a]visions were infrequent.

² It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^(C)his eyesight had begun to grow dim 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 the Lord where the ark of God was, ⁴ that the Lord 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, lie down again.” So he went and lay down. ⁶ The Lord 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, lie down again.” ^7 (F)Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. ⁸ So the Lord 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 the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ 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.

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” ¹¹ The Lord 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 carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ For ^(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 brought a curse on themselves and ^(L)he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ 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 the Lord. 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 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 the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ Thus ^(R)Samuel grew and ^(S)the Lord was with him and ^(T)let none of his words ^[c]fail. ²⁰ All Israel ^(U)from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ And ^(V)the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, ^(W)because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

¹⁰ Now there was a disciple at ^(A)Damascus named ^(B)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in ^(C)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from ^(D)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, ¹² and he has seen ^[a]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and ^(E)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” ¹³ But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, ^(F)how much harm he did to ^(G)Your ^[b]saints at Jerusalem; ¹⁴ and here he ^(H)has authority from the chief priests to bind all who ^(I)call on Your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to him, “Go, for ^(J)he is a chosen ^[c]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before ^(K)the Gentiles and ^(L)kings and the sons of Israel; ¹⁶ for ^(M)I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” ¹⁷ So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after ^(N)laying his hands on him said, “^(O)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be ^(P)filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened.

Saul Begins to Preach Christ

Now ^(Q)for several days he was with ^(R)the disciples who were at Damascus,