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1 Samuel 3
Evangelical Heritage Version
1 Samuel 3
Evangelical Heritage Version
Samuel Becomes a Prophet
3 The boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days. Prophetic vision was not common.
2 Now it happened that Eli’s eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see. Once when Eli was lying down in his place 3 and God’s lamp had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s temple, where God’s ark was. 4 The Lord called Samuel, and Samuel said, “I am here.” 5 He ran to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”
Eli said, “I did not call. Lie down again.” So he went and lay down.
6 Then the Lord called once more, “Samuel!”
So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”
He answered, “I did not call, my son. Lie down again.”
7 Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord’s presence,[a] that is, the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8 The Lord called Samuel for the third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, “I am here, since you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the young man. 9 So Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
So Samuel went and once again lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there and called as he had the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look, I am going to do something in Israel that will make both ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12 On that day I am going to carry out against Eli everything that I have spoken against his house, from beginning to end. 13 I have told him that I am going to judge his house forever because of their guilty behavior, which he knew about. This will happen because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he did not restrain them. 14 I have sworn to the house of Eli that the guilt of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for with sacrifice or offering.”
15 So Samuel lay there until morning.[b] Then he opened the doors to the Lord’s house. Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 But Eli called to Samuel, “Samuel, my son!”
He said, “I am here.”
17 Eli said, “What is the message that he has spoken to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God punish you severely and double it,[c] if you hide from me one word of all of the things that he spoke to you.”
18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him.
Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do whatever is good in his eyes.”
19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. The Lord 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. 21 The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, because at Shiloh the Lord revealed himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord. ⎣So Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord for all Israel, from one end of the land to the other end.⎦[d]
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:7 Literally did not know the Lord
- 1 Samuel 3:15 The Greek Old Testament includes a few words that are not present in the Hebrew text. These words are marked by half-brackets in the following: So Samuel lay there until morning⎣and he got up in the morning⎦ and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. The Hebrew copyist’s eye may have jumped from the first occurrence of morning to the second.
- 1 Samuel 3:17 Literally thus may God do to you and thus may he add
- 1 Samuel 3:21 See the following note on verse 4:1.
1 Samuel 3
New International Version
1 Samuel 3
New International Version
The Lord Calls Samuel
3 The boy Samuel ministered(A) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare;(B) there were not many visions.(C)
2 One night Eli, whose eyes(D) were becoming so weak that he could barely see,(E) was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp(F) of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house(G) of the Lord, where the ark(H) of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.(I)” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”
7 Now Samuel did not yet know(J) the Lord: The word(K) of the Lord had not yet been revealed(L) to him.
8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!(M)”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle.(N) 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything(O) I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,[a] and he failed to restrain(P) them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned(Q) for by sacrifice or offering.’”
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17 “What was it he said to you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide(R) it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely,(S) if you hide from me anything he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”(T)
19 The Lord was with(U) Samuel as he grew(V) up, and he let none(W) of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba(X) recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.(Y) 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed(Z) himself to Samuel through his word.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 3:13 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.