Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, go, lie down
Once more;
and it shall be, if he call thee;
the voice, or the Lord by it:
that thou shalt say, speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth;
his meaning is, that he should not rise and come to him, as he had done, but continue on his bed, on hearing the voice again, but desire the Lord to speak to him what he had to say, to which he was ready to attend:
so Samuel went and lay down in his place;
which, as commonly understood, was in the court of the Levites, (See Gill on 1 Samuel 3:3).