Kings I 3

1 And the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Heli the priest: and the word of the Lord was precious in those days, there was no distinct vision.

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 that Heli was sleeping in his place; and his eyes began to fail, and 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 [was burning] before it was trimmed, and Samuel slept in the temple, where [was] the ark of God.

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 And the Lord called, Samuel, Samuel; and he said, Behold, [here am] I.

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

5 And he ran to Heli, and said, [Here am] I, for you did call me: and he said, I did not call you; return, go to sleep; and he returned and went to sleep.

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 the Lord called again, Samuel, Samuel: and he went to Heli the second time, and said, Behold [here am] I, for you did call me: and he said, I called you not; return, go to sleep.

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 And [it was] before Samuel knew the Lord, and [before] the word of the Lord was 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 the Lord called Samuel again for the third time: and he arose and went to Heli, and said, Behold, I [am here], for you did call me: and Heli perceived that the Lord [had] called the child.

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

9 And he said, Return, child, go to sleep; and it shall come to pass if he shall call you, that you shall say, Speak for your servant hears: and 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 the Lord came, and stood, and called him as before: and Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears.

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 the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I execute my words in Israel; whoever hears them, both his ears 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 raise up against Heli all things that I have said against his house; I will begin, and I will 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 And I have told him that I will be avenged on his house perpetually for the iniquities of his sons, because his sons spoke evil against God, and he did not admonish them.

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 [it shall] not [go on] so; I have sworn to the house of Eli, the iniquity of the house of Eli shall not be atoned for with incense or sacrifices 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 slept till morning, and rose early in the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel feared to tell [Heli] the vision.

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 Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, [my] son; and he said, Behold, [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 [was] the word that was spoken to you? I pray you hide it not from me: may God do these things to you, and more also, if you hide from me any thing of all the words that were spoken to you in your ears.

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 reported all the words, and hid them not from him. And Heli said, He [is] the Lord, he shall do that which 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 the Lord was with him, and there did not fall one of his words 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 knew from Dan even to Bersabee, that Samuel [was] faithful as a prophet to the Lord.

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

21 And the Lord manifested himself again in Selom, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel; and Samuel was accredited to all Israel as a prophet to the Lord from one end of the land to the other: and Heli [was] very old, and his sons kept advancing [in wickedness], and their way [was] evil before the Lord.

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.