1 Samuel 3

1 And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; a vision was not frequent.

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no manifest vision.

2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli lay in his place (now his eyes began to grow dim, he could not see),

Then it happened that, on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place. And his eyes had dimmed, so that he was unable to see.

3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel lay in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was,

And so, to prevent the lamp of God from going out, Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 that Jehovah called to Samuel. And he said, Here am I.

And the Lord called Samuel. And responding, he said, “Here I am.”

5 And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call: lie down again. And he went and lay down.

And he ran to Eli, and he said, “Here I am. For you called me.” And he said: “I did not call. Return and sleep.” And he went away, and he slept.

6 And Jehovah called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call, my son: lie down again.

And again, the Lord continued to call to Samuel. And rising up, Samuel went to Eli, and he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” And he responded: “I did not call you, my son. Return and sleep.”

7 Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither had the word of Jehovah yet been revealed to him.

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him.

8 And Jehovah called again the third time, Samuel! And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah was calling the boy.

And the Lord continued, and he called to Samuel still a third time. And rising up, he went to Eli.

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

And he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy. And he said to Samuel: “Go and sleep. And if he calls to you from now on, you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” Therefore, Samuel went away, and he slept in his place.

10 And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at the other times, Samuel, Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant heareth.

And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, just as he had called the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” And Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

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

And the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I am accomplishing a word in Israel. Whoever will hear about it, both his ears will ring.

12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house; I will begin and make an end.

In that day, I will raise up against Eli all the things that I have spoken over his house. I will begin, and I will finish.

13 For I have declared to him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he hath known: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.

For I have foretold to him that I will judge his house unto eternity, because of iniquity. For he had known that his sons acted shamefully, and he did not chastise them.

14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice or oblation for ever.

For this reason, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house will not be expiated, with victims or with gifts, even forever.”

15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to declare the vision to Eli.

Then Samuel slept until morning, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

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

Then Eli called Samuel, and he said, “Samuel, my son?” And responding, he said, “I am here.”

17 And he said, What is the word that he has spoken to thee? I pray thee, keep it not back from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou keep back anything from me of all the word that he spoke to thee.

And he questioned him: “What is the word that the Lord has spoken to you? I beg you that you may not conceal it from me. May God do these things to you, and may he add these other things, if you hide from me one word out of all the things that were told to you.”

18 And Samuel told him all the words, and kept nothing back from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what is good in his sight.

And so, Samuel revealed to him all the words, and he did not hide them from him. And he responded: “He is the Lord. May he do what is good in his own eyes.”

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

And Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground.

20 And all Israel, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, knew that Samuel was established a prophet of Jehovah.

And all of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew Samuel to be a faithful prophet of the Lord.

21 And Jehovah appeared again at Shiloh; for Jehovah revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Jehovah.

And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh. For the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh, according to the word of the Lord. And the word about Samuel went forth to all of Israel.