Now ^athe boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And ^bword from the LORD was rare in those days, ¹visions were infrequent.

2 It happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^ahis eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well), 3 and ^athe lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, 4 that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “^aHere I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he ¹answered, “I did not call, my son, lie down again.” 7 ^aNow Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. 8 So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli discerned that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11 The LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, ^aI am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 In that day ^aI will carry out against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 For ^aI have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for ^bthe iniquity which he knew, because ^chis sons brought a curse on themselves and ^dhe did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^athe iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^aopened the doors of the house of the LORD. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^bthe vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^aMay God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “^aIt is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him.”

19 Thus ^aSamuel grew and ^bthe LORD was with him and ^clet none of his words ¹fail. 20 All Israel ^afrom Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21 And ^athe LORD appeared again at Shiloh, ^bbecause the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Now ^athe boy Samuel was attending to the service of the LORD before Eli. And ^bword from the LORD was rare in those days; ¹visions were infrequent.

2 But it happened at that time as Eli was lying down in his place (now ^ahis eyesight had begun to be ¹poor and he could not see well), 3 and ^athe lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was, 4 that the LORD called Samuel; and he said, “^aHere I am.” 5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 And the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.” 7 ^aNow Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor had the word of the LORD yet been revealed to him. 8 So the LORD called Samuel again for the third time. And he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to Samuel, “Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then the LORD came and stood, and called as at the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, ^aI am going to do a thing in Israel, and both ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. 12 On that day ^aI will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken in regard to his house, from beginning to end. 13 For ^aI have told him that I am going to judge his house forever for ^bthe wrongdoing that he knew, because ^chis sons were bringing a curse on themselves and ^dhe did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^athe wrongdoing of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.”

15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^aopened the doors of the house of the LORD. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^bthe vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 He said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^aMay God do the same to you, and more so, if you hide a single word from me of all the words that He spoke to you!” 18 So Samuel told him ¹everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “^aHe is the LORD; let Him do ²what seems good to Him.”

19 Now ^aSamuel grew, and ^bthe LORD was with him, and He ^clet none of his words ¹fail. 20 And all Israel ^afrom Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21 And ^athe LORD appeared again at Shiloh, ^bbecause the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Now ^athe boy Samuel was attending to the service of the LORD ¹under the supervision of Eli. The ^bword of the LORD was rare and precious in those days; visions that is, new revelations of divine truth were not widespread.

2 Yet it happened at that time, as Eli was lying down in his own place (now ^ahis eyesight had begun to grow dim and he could not see well). 3 ^aand the oil lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, 4 that the LORD called Samuel, and he answered, “^aHere I am.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call you; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 ^aNow Samuel did not yet know or personally experience the LORD, and the word of the LORD was not yet revealed directly to him. 8 So the LORD called Samuel a third time. And he stood and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli understood that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and it shall be that if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Then the LORD came and stood and called as at the previous times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.” 11 The LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, ^aI am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will ring. 12 On that day ^aI will carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken concerning his house (family) , from beginning to end. 13 Now ^aI have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for ^bthe sinful behavior which he knew was happening, because ^chis sons were bringing a curse on themselves dishonoring and blaspheming God and ^dhe did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that ^athe sinful behavior of Eli’s house (family) shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he ^aopened the doors of the LORD’S house. But Samuel was afraid to tell ^bthe vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he answered, “Here I am.” 17 Then Eli said, “What is it that He said to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^aMay God do the same to you, and more also, if you hide from me anything of all that He said to you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. And Eli said, “^aIt is the LORD; may He do what seems good ¹to Him.”

19 ^aNow Samuel grew; and ^bthe LORD was with him and He ^clet none of his words ¹fail to be fulfilled. Josh 23:14 20 And all Israel ^afrom Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south knew that Samuel was appointed as a prophet of the LORD. 21 And ^athe LORD continued to appear in Shiloh, ^bfor the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.