1 Samuel 3

1 The child Samuel served Yahweh under Eli. Yahweh's word was rare in those days; there was no frequent prophetic vision.

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.

2 At that time, when Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see well, was lying down in his own bed.

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.

3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down to sleep in the temple of Yahweh, where the ark of God was.

And the lamp of God [was burning] before it was trimmed, and Samuel slept in the temple, where [was] the ark of God.

4 Yahweh called to Samuel, who said, “Here I am.”

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

5 Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Eli said, “I did not call you; lie down again.” So Samuel went and lay down.

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.

6 Yahweh called again, “Samuel.” Again Samuel rose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son; lie down again.”

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.

7 Now Samuel did not yet have any experience of Yahweh, nor had any message from Yahweh ever been revealed to him.

And [it was] before Samuel knew the Lord, and [before] the word of the Lord was revealed to him.

8 Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. Again Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that Yahweh had called the boy.

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.

9 Then Eli said to Samuel, “Go and lie down again; if he calls you again, you must say, 'Speak, Yahweh, for your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his own place once more.

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.

10 Yahweh came and stood; he called as at the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

And the Lord came, and stood, and called him as before: and Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears.

11 Yahweh said to Samuel, “See, I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I execute my words in Israel; whoever hears them, both his ears shall tingle.

12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have said about his house, from beginning to end.

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.

13 I have told him that I am about to judge his house once for all for the sin that he knew about, because his sons brought a curse upon themselves and he did not stop them.

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.

14 Because of this I have sworn to the house of Eli that the sins of his house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”

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.

15 Samuel lay down until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision.

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.

16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel said, “Here I am.”

And Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, [my] son; and he said, Behold, [here am] I.

17 He said, “What was the word he spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and even more, if you hide anything from me of all the words that he spoke to you.”

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.

18 Samuel told him everything; he hid nothing from him. Eli said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”

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.

19 Samuel grew up, and Yahweh was with him, and he let none of his prophetic words fall to the ground.

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and there did not fall one of his words to the ground.

20 All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was appointed to be a prophet of Yahweh.

And all Israel knew from Dan even to Bersabee, that Samuel [was] faithful as a prophet to the Lord.

21 Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh, for he revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by his word.

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.