1 Samuel 3

1 And the lad Samuel was ministering unto the Lord before 'Eli. And the word of the Lord was scarce in those days: prophecy was not extended.

[While he was still a] boy, Samuel was working for Yahweh while Eli supervised him. At that time there were very few messages [that anyone received] from Yahweh, and very few people saw visions [that Yahweh gave them].

2 And it came to pass one day, when 'Eli was lying down in his place, and his eyes had begun to grow dim, he could not see;

By that time Eli’s eyes were very weak; he was almost blind. [One night] he was sleeping in his room,

3 And the lamp of God had not yet gone out, while Samuel was lying down in [the hall of] the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was;

and Samuel was sleeping in the sacred tent, where the chest that contained the Ten Commandments was kept. While the sacred lamp was still burning,

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

Yahweh called, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel replied, “I’m here!”

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

Then he [got up and] ran to Eli. He said to him, “I am here, because you called me!” But Eli replied, “No, I did not call you. Go back to your bed.” So Samuel went and lay down again.

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

Then Yahweh called again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up again and went to Eli and said, “I am here, because you called me!” But Eli said, “No, my son, I did not call you. Go back and lie down.”

7 And Samuel knew not yet the Lord, nor had the word of the Lord been as yet revealed unto him.

At that time Samuel did not yet know [that] Yahweh [could speak to him], because Yahweh had not previously revealed anything to him.

8 And the Lord continued to call, Samuel, the third time; and he arose and went to 'Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And 'Eli then perceived that the Lord was calling the lad.

[After Samuel lay down again], Yahweh called him a third time. So again Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, because you called me!” Then Eli realized that it was Yahweh who was calling the boy.

9 And '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. And Samuel went and lay down in his place.

So he said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again. If someone calls you again, say ‘Speak to me, Yahweh, because I am listening!’” So Samuel went and lay down again.

10 And the Lord came, and placed himself, and called as at previous times, Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant heareth.

Then Yahweh came and stood there and called as he had done the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak to me, because I am listening!”

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.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, “Listen carefully. I am about to do something here in Israel that will shock/horrify [IDM] everyone who hears about it.

12 On that day will I fulfill on 'Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house: I will begin and finish.

When that happens, I will punish Eli and his family. I will do to them everything that I said that I would do.

13 And I tell him that I will judge his house for ever; for the iniquity that he knew that his sons were drawing a curse on themselves, and he restrained them not.

His sons have shown great disrespect for me by the disgraceful things they have done, and Eli did not restrain them. So I told him that I would punish his family forever.

14 And therefore have I sworn unto the house of 'Eli, that the iniquity of 'Eli's house shall not be atoned for with sacrifice or meat-offering for ever.

I solemnly promised to Eli’s family, ‘You will never be able to avoid the consequences for your sin, even if you give me sacrifices or offerings.’”

15 And Samuel lay until the morning, when he opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel feared to tell the vision unto 'Eli.

Samuel lay down again until morning. Then he got up and opened the doors of the Sacred Tent [as usual]. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision [that Yahweh had given him].

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

But Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son!” Samuel answered, “I am here!”

17 And he said, What is the word which he hath spoken unto thee? do not, I pray thee, conceal it from me: may God do to thee thus, and continue to do so, if thou conceal any thing from me of all the word that he hath spoken unto thee.

Eli asked him, “What was it that Yahweh told you? Do not conceal it! I want God to punish you severely if you do not tell me everything that he said to you.”

18 And Samuel told him all the words, and concealed nothing from him. And he said, He is the Lord: let him do what seemeth good in his eyes.

So Samuel told him everything. He did not refuse to tell him anything. Then Eli said, “He is Yahweh. I am willing for him to do what he thinks is best.”

19 And Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, and he did not let fall any one of all his words to the ground.

As Samuel grew up, Yahweh helped him, and caused everything to (come true/happen) that Samuel predicted.

20 And thus knew all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba' that Samuel was accredited as a prophet of the Lord.

So all the people of Israel, from the northern end of the country to the southern end, realized that Samuel was truly a prophet of Yahweh.

21 And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh; for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.

Yahweh continued to appear to Samuel in Shiloh and give messages to him.