The First Book of Samuel

⭑ King James Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 3 -

And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;

And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord , where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;

That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.

And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.

And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord , neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.(a)

And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.

Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord ; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.(b)

For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.(c)

(d)

(e)

And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

Samuel Shares the Vision

And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord . And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.

And he said, What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.(f)

(g)

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the Lord : let him do what seemeth him good.(h)

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

And all Israel from Dan even to Beer–sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord .(i)

And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord .

Footnotes

(a)3:7 Now…: or, Thus did Samuel before he knew the Lord, and before the word of the Lord was revealed unto him

(b)3:12 when…: Heb. beginning and ending

(d)3:13 vile: or, accursed

(e)3:13 restrained…: Heb. frowned not upon them

(f)3:17 more also: Heb. so add

(g)3:17 thing: or, word

(h)3:18 every…: Heb. all the things, or, words

(i)3:20 established: or, faithful

The child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. The LORD’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then.

At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),

and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in the LORD’s temple where God’s ark was,

The LORD called Samuel. He said, “Here I am.”

He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call. Lie down again.” He went and lay down.

The LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son. Lie down again.”

Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD, neither was the LORD’s word yet revealed to him.

The LORD called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”

The LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.

For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.

Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”

Samuel Shares the Vision

Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the LORD’s house. Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”

He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”

Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”

Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.

The LORD appeared again in Shiloh; for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the LORD’s word.