1 Samuel 3 | King James Version

King James Version

1 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. 2 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; 3 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 ; 4 That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. 5 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. 6 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. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. 8 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. 9 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. 10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth. 11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli' house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I. 17 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. 18 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. 19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. 21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

New International Reader’s Version

The Lordcalls out to Samuel

1 The boy Samuel served the LORD under the direction of Eli. In those days the LORD didn’t give many messages to his people. He didn’t give them many visions. 2 One night Eli was lying down in his usual place. His eyes were becoming so weak he couldn’t see very well. 3 Samuel was lying down in the LORD’s house. That’s where the ark of God was kept. The lamp of God was still burning. 4 The LORD called out to Samuel. Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ 5 He ran over to Eli and said, ‘Here I am. You called out to me.’ But Eli said, ‘I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down. 6 Again the LORD called out, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, ‘Here I am. You called out to me.’ ‘My son’, Eli said, ‘I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.’ 7 Samuel didn’t know the LORD yet. That’s because the LORD still hadn’t given him a message. 8 The LORD called out for the third time. He said, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, ‘Here I am. You called out to me.’ Then Eli realised that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, ‘Go and lie down. If someone calls out to you again, say, “Speak, LORD. I’m listening.” ’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The LORD came and stood there. He called out, just as he had done the other times. He said, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel replied, ‘Speak. I’m listening.’ 11 The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Pay attention! I am about to do something terrible in Israel. It will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 At that time I will do everything to Eli and his family that I said I would. I will finish what I have started. 13 I told Eli I would punish his family for ever. He knew his sons were sinning. He knew they were saying bad things about me. In spite of that, he did not stop them. 14 So I made a promise to the family of Eli. I said, “The sins of Eli’s family will never be paid for by bringing sacrifices or offerings.” ’ 15 Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the LORD’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision he had received. 16 But Eli called out to him. He said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ 17 ‘What did the LORD say to you?’ Eli asked. ‘Don’t hide from me anything he told you. If you do, may God punish you greatly.’ 18 So Samuel told him everything. He didn’t hide anything from him. Then Eli said, ‘He is the LORD. Let him do what he thinks is best.’ 19 As Samuel grew up, the LORD was with him. He made everything Samuel said come true. 20 So all the Israelites recognised that Samuel really was a prophet of the LORD. Everyone from Dan all the way to Beersheba knew it. 21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh. There he made himself known to Samuel through the messages he gave him.