1 Samuel3

¹Meanwhile, 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.

²One night Eli, who was almost blind by now, had gone to bed.

³The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was sleeping in the Tabernacle near the Ark of God.

⁴Suddenly the Lord called out, “Samuel!” “Yes?” Samuel replied. “What is it?”

⁵He 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.

⁶Then 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.”

⁷Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before.

⁸So 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.

⁹So 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.

¹⁰And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am about to do a shocking thing in Israel.

¹²I am going to carry out all my threats against Eli and his family, from beginning to end.

¹³I have warned him that judgment is coming upon his family forever, because his sons are blaspheming God and he hasn’t disciplined them.

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

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

¹⁶But 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!”

¹⁸So 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.”

¹⁹As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable.

²⁰And all Israel, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord.

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