1 Samuel 3

The Prophetic Call to Samuel

1Now 1the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And 2word from the Lord was rare in those days, 3visions were infrequent.

2It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now 4his eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), 3and 5the 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, 4that the Lord called Samuel; and he said, “6Here I am.” 5Then 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. 6The Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he 7answered, “I did not call, my son, lie down again.” 78Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord yet been revealed to him. 8So 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. 9And 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.

10Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, 9I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12In that day 10I will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13For 11I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for 12the iniquity which he knew, because 13his sons brought a curse on themselves and 14he did not rebuke them. 14Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that 15the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he 16opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell 17the vision to Eli. 16Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. 18May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” 18So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “19It is the Lord; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

19Thus 20Samuel grew and 21the Lord was with him and 22let none of his words 23fail. 20All Israel 24from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 21And 25the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, 26because the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord.