1 Samuel · Majority Standard Bible
1 Samuel 3 Majority Standard Bible
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 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.
1 The child Samuel ministered to Yahweh before Eli. Yahweh’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then.
2 And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room.
2 At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),
3 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.
3 and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in Yahweh’s temple where God’s ark was,
4 Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
4 Yahweh called Samuel. He said, “Here I am.”
5 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.
5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call. Lie down again.” He went and lay down.
6 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.”
6 Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son. Lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him.
8 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.
8 Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child.
9 “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.
9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
10 Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”
11 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.
11 Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.
12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his house, from beginning to end.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.
13 I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.
14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”
15 Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
15 Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.
16 but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel.
16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”
17 “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.”
17 He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”
18 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.”
18 Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.
19 Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.
20 So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
20 All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.
21 And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word.
21 Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahweh’s word.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Samuel
Born to Hannah in answer to prayer and dedicated to the LORD at Shiloh, he was confirmed as a prophet, judged Israel all his life, anointed Saul and then David, and was buried at…
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 1:20; 1 Samuel 3:20; 1 Samuel 7:15
Cross references (19)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Amos 8:11–12; Psalm 74:9; 1 Samuel 3:21; 1 Samuel 2:11; 1 Samuel 2:18
- 2 1 Samuel 4:15; Genesis 27:1; Genesis 48:10; Psalm 90:10; Genesis 48:19
- 3 Psalm 27:4; Leviticus 24:2–4; Exodus 27:20–21; Psalm 5:7; Psalm 29:9
- 4 Isaiah 6:8; Genesis 22:1; 1 Corinthians 12:6–11; Psalm 99:6; Exodus 3:4
- 6 Genesis 43:29; 1 Samuel 4:16; Matthew 9:2; 2 Samuel 18:22
- 7 Acts 19:2; Jeremiah 9:24
- 8 Job 33:14–15; 1 Corinthians 13:11–12
- 9 Isaiah 6:8; Exodus 20:19; Psalm 85:8; Acts 9:6; Daniel 10:19
- 10 1 Samuel 3:8
- 11 Habakkuk 1:5; 2 Kings 21:12; Acts 13:41; Jeremiah 19:3; Luke 21:26
- 12 1 Samuel 2:27–36; Luke 21:33; Joshua 23:15; Numbers 23:19; Zechariah 1:6
- 13 Proverbs 19:18; 1 Samuel 2:12; 1 Samuel 2:17; Matthew 10:37; Proverbs 23:13–14
- 14 Isaiah 22:14; Jeremiah 7:16; 1 Samuel 2:25; Numbers 15:30–31; Jeremiah 15:1
- 15 Jeremiah 1:6–8; 1 Samuel 1:9; 1 Corinthians 16:10–11; Malachi 1:10
- 17 Ruth 1:17; 2 Samuel 3:35; Micah 2:7; 1 Samuel 20:13; Daniel 4:19
- 18 Job 2:10; Isaiah 39:8; 1 Peter 5:6; Judges 10:15; Lamentations 3:39
- 19 Genesis 39:2; 1 Samuel 9:6; 1 Kings 8:56; Luke 2:52; 2 Timothy 4:22
- 20 Judges 20:1; 2 Samuel 3:10; 1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Samuel 17:11
- 21 1 Samuel 3:1; Genesis 12:7; 1 Samuel 3:4; Genesis 15:1; Numbers 12:6
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences