1 Samuel 3

Chapter 3

The LORD Speaks to Samuel

1 Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the LORD by assisting Eli. Now in those days messages from the LORD were very rare, and visions were quite uncommon.
2 One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed.3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernaclet near the Ark of God.

4 Suddenly the LORD called out, “Samuel!”

“Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?”

5 He got up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So he did.

6 Then the LORD called out again, “Samuel!”
Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”
“I didn’t call you, my son,” Eli said. “Go back to bed.”
7 Samuel did not yet know the LORD because he had never had a message from the LORD before.

8 So the LORD called a third time, and once more Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am. Did you call me?”

Then Eli realized it was the LORD who was calling the boy.

9 So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again, and if someone calls again, say, ‘Speak, LORD, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.

10 And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”
11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel.12 I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end.13 I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming Godt and he hasn’t disciplined them.

14 So I have vowed that the sins of Eli and his sons will never be forgiven by sacrifices or offerings.”

Samuel Speaks for the LORD

15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernaclet as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the LORD had said to him.

16 But Eli called out to him, “Samuel, my son.”
“Here I am,” Samuel replied.
17 “What did the LORD say to you? Tell me everything. And may God strike you and even kill you if you hide anything from me!”

18 So Samuel told Eli everything; he didn’t hold anything back. “It is the LORD’s will,” Eli replied. “Let him do what he thinks best.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.20 And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.

21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh and gave messages to Samuel there at the Tabernacle.

1 SAMUEL 3

The [Lord] Speaks //to Samuel

1-2 Samuel served the [Lord] by helping Eli the priest, who was by that time almost blind. In those days, the [Lord] hardly ever spoke directly to people, and he did not appear to them in dreams very often. But one night, Eli was asleep in his room, 3 and Samuel was sleeping on a mat near the sacred chest in the [Lord]'s house. They had not been asleep very longt

4 when the [Lord] called out Samuel's name.
“Here I am!” Samuel answered.

5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”
“I didn't call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to bed.”
Samuel went back.

6 Again the [Lord] called out Samuel's name. Samuel got up and went to Eli. “Here I am,” he said. “What do you want?”
Eli told him, “Son, I didn't call you. Go back to sleep.”
7 The [Lord] had not spoken to Samuel before, and Samuel did not recognize the voice.

8 When the [Lord] called out his name for the third time, Samuel went to Eli again and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”
Eli finally realized that it was the [Lord] who was speaking to Samuel.

9 So he said, “Go back and lie down! If someone speaks to you again, answer, ‘I'm listening, [Lord]. What do you want me to do?’ ”
Once again Samuel went back and lay down.

10 The [Lord] then stood beside Samuel and called out as he had done before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
“I'm listening,” Samuel answered. “What do you want me to do?”

11 The [Lord] said:
Samuel, I am going to do something in Israel that will shock everyone who hears about it! 12 I will punish Eli and his family, just as I promised. 13 He knew that his sons refused to respect me, t and he let them get away with it, even though I said I would punish his family forever.

14 I warned Eli that sacrifices or offerings could never make things right! His family has done too many disgusting things.
15 The next morning, Samuel got up and opened the doors to the [Lord]'s house. He was afraid to tell Eli what the [Lord] had said.

16 But Eli told him, “Samuel, my boy, come here!”
“Yes, sir!” Samuel answered.

17 Eli said, “What did God say to you? Tell me everything. I'll ask God to punish you terribly if you don't tell me every word he said!”

18 Samuel told Eli everything. Then Eli said, “He is the [Lord], and he will do what's right.”

The [Lord] Helps Samuel