1 Samuel 3:9

9 So Eli said to Samuel, "Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD. Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down where he'd been.

1 Samuel 3:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 3:9

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).

1 Samuel 3:9 In-Context

7 (Now Samuel didn't yet know the LORD, and the LORD's word hadn't yet been revealed to him.)

8 A third time the LORD called Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, "I'm here. You called me?" Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy.

9 So Eli said to Samuel, "Go and lie down. If he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD. Your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down where he'd been.

10 Then the LORD came and stood there, calling just as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel said, "Speak. Your servant is listening."

11 The LORD said to Samuel, "I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of all who hear it tingle!