CHAPTER 3
And the boy
Samuel
ministered
to
the LORD
before
Eli.
Now in those
days
the word
of the LORD
was
rare
and visions
were
scarce.
And
at that time
Eli,
whose eyesight
had grown so dim
that he could
not
see,
was lying
in his room.
Before
the lamp
of God
had gone out,
Samuel
was lying down
in the temple
of the LORD,
where
the ark
of God
was located.
He ran
to
Eli
and said,
“Here I am,
for
you have called
me.”
“I did not
call,”
Eli replied.
“Go back
and lie down.”
So he went
and lay down.
Once again
the LORD
called,
“Samuel!”
So Samuel
got up,
went
to
Eli,
and said,
“Here I am,
for
you have called
me.”
“My son,
I did not
call,”
Eli replied.
“Go back
and lie down.”
Now Samuel
did not yet
know
the LORD,
because the word
of the LORD
had not yet
been revealed
to him.
Once again,
for the third time,
the LORD
called
to Samuel.
He got up,
went
to
Eli,
and said,
“Here I am,
for
you have called
me.”
Then Eli
realized
that it was the LORD
who was calling
the boy.
“Go
and lie down,”
he
said
to Samuel,
“and
if
He calls you,
say,
‘Speak,
LORD,
for
Your servant
is listening.’”
So Samuel
went
and lay down
in his place.
Then the LORD
came
and stood there,
calling
as before,
“Samuel!
Samuel!”
And Samuel
answered,
“Speak,
for
Your servant
is listening.”
Then the LORD
said
to
Samuel,
“I
am about to do
something
in Israel
at which
the ears
of all
who hear it
will tingle.
On that
day
I will carry out
against
Eli
everything
I have spoken
about
his family,
from beginning
to end.
I told
him that
I
will judge
his house
forever
for the iniquity
of which
he knows,
because
his sons
blasphemed God
and he did not
restrain
them.
Therefore,
I have sworn
to the house
of Eli,
‘The iniquity
of Eli’s
house
shall never
be atoned for
by sacrifice
or offering.’”
Samuel
lay down
until
the morning;
then he opened
the doors
of the LORD’s
house.
He
was afraid
to tell
Eli
the vision,
“What
was the message
He gave you?”
Eli asked.
“Do not
hide
it from me.
May God
punish
you,
and ever so
severely,
if
you hide
from me
anything
He said
to you.”
So Samuel
told
him
everything
and did not
hide
a thing from him.
“He
is the LORD,”
replied Eli.
“Let Him do
what is good
in His eyes.”
And Samuel
grew,
and the LORD
was
with him,
and He let none
of
Samuel's words
fall
to the ground.
And the LORD
continued
to appear
at Shiloh,
because
there
He
revealed Himself
to
Samuel
by His
word.