1 Nowe the childe Samuel ministred vnto the Lord before Eli: and the word of the Lord was precious in those dayes: for there was no manifest vision. 2 And at that time, as Eli lay in his place, his eyes began to waxe dimme that he could not see. 3 And yet the light of God went out, Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the Arke of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel: and hee said, Here I am. 5 And he ranne vnto Eli, and said, Here am I, for thou calledst me. But he said, I called thee not: goe againe and sleepe. And he went and slept. 6 And the Lord called once againe, Samuel. And Samuel arose, and went to Eli, and said, I am here: for thou diddest call me. And he answered, I called thee not, my sonne: go againe and sleepe. 7 Thus did Samuel, before hee knewe the Lord, and before the word of the Lord was reueiled vnto him. 8 And the Lord called Samuel againe the thirde time: and he arose, and went to Eli, and said, I am here: for thou hast called me. Then Eli perceiued that the Lord had called the childe. 9 Therefore Eli saide vnto Samuel, Goe and sleepe: and if he call thee, then say, Speake Lord, for thy seruant heareth. So Samuel went, and slept in his place. 10 And the Lord came, and stoode, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speake, for thy seruant heareth. 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, Beholde, I wil doe a thing in Israel, whereof whosoeuer shall heare, his two eares shall tingle. 12 In that day I will raise vp against Eli all things which I haue spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an ende. 13 And I haue tolde him that I will iudge his house for euer, for the iniquitie which hee knoweth, because his sonnes ranne into a slaunder, and he stayed them not. 14 Nowe therefore I haue sworne vnto the house of Eli, that the wickednes of Elis house, shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offring for euer. 15 Afterward Samuel slept vntil the morning, and opened the doores of the house of the Lord, and Samuel feared to shewe Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel my sonne. And he answered, Here I am. 17 Then he said, What is it, that the Lord said vnto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from mee. God doe so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me, of all that he said vnto thee. 18 So Samuel tolde him euery whit, and hid nothing from him. Then hee said, It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good. 19 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba knew that faithfull Samuel was the Lordes Prophet. 21 And the Lord appeared againe in Shiloh: for the Lord reueiled himselfe to Samuel in Shiloh by his word.
The Lord Appears to Samuel
1 In those days, when the boy Samuel was serving the Lord under the direction of Eli, there were very few messages from the Lord, and visions from him were quite rare. 2 One night Eli, who was now almost blind, was sleeping in his own room; 3 Samuel was sleeping in the sanctuary, where the sacred Covenant Box was. Before dawn, while the lamp was still burning, 4 the Lord called Samuel. He answered, “Yes, sir!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “You called me, and here I am.”
But Eli answered, “I didn't call you; go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.
6-7 The Lord called Samuel again. The boy did not know that it was the Lord, because the Lord had never spoken to him before. So he got up, went to Eli, and said, “You called me, and here I am.”
But Eli answered, “My son, I didn't call you; go back to bed.”
8 The Lord called Samuel a third time; he got up, went to Eli, and said, “You called me, and here I am.”
Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, 9 so he said to him, “Go back to bed; and if he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 The Lord came and stood there, and called as he had before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak; your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Some day I am going to do something to the people of Israel that is so terrible that everyone who hears about it will be stunned. 12 On that day I will carry out all my threats against Eli's family, from beginning to end. 13 I have already told him that I am going to punish his family forever because his sons have spoken evil things against me. Eli knew they were doing this, but he did not stop them. 14 So I solemnly declare to the family of Eli that no sacrifice or offering will ever be able to remove the consequences of this terrible sin.”
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning; then he got up and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 Eli called him, “Samuel, my boy!”
“Yes, sir,” answered Samuel.
17 “What did the Lord tell you?” Eli asked. “Don't keep anything from me. God will punish you severely if you don't tell me everything he said.” 18 So Samuel told him everything; he did not keep anything back. Eli said, “He is the Lord; he will do whatever seems best to him.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and made come true everything that Samuel said. 20 So all the people of Israel, from one end of the country to the other, knew that Samuel was indeed a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to reveal himself at Shiloh, where he had appeared to Samuel and had spoken to him. And when Samuel spoke, all Israel listened.