1 Samuel 3

1 Forsooth the child Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious; in those days was none open revelation (for in those days there was no open revelation).

2 Therefore it was done in a day, Eli lay in his bed, and his eyes dimmed, and he might not see; (And so it was done one night, when Eli lay on his bed, and his eyes had dimmed, and he could not see;)

3 the lantern of the Lord was not yet quenched. And Samuel slept in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. (and Samuel also slept in the Temple of the Lord, where the Ark of God was. And one morning, before that the lantern of God was quenched,)

4 And the Lord called Samuel; and he answered and said, Lo! I./Lo! I am ready. (the Lord called to Samuel; and he answered and said, Lo! I am here.)

5 And he ran to Eli, and said to him, Lo! I; for thou calledest me. And Eli said, I called not thee; turn thou again and sleep. And he went and slept. (And he ran to Eli, and said to him, Lo! I am here; for thou hast called me. And Eli said, I did not call thee; return thou, and go to sleep. And so he went and slept again.)

6 And the Lord added again to call Samuel; and Samuel rose (up), and went to Eli, and said, Lo! I (am) here; for thou calledest me. And Eli answered, I called not thee, my son; turn thou again and sleep (And Eli answered, I did not call thee, my son; return thou, and go back to sleep).

7 Forsooth Samuel knew not yet the Lord, neither the word of the Lord was showed to him. (For Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet shown to him.)

8 And the Lord added, and called yet Samuel the third time; the which rose up and went to Eli, and said, Lo! I; for thou calledest me. Then Eli understood, that the Lord had called the child; (And the Lord added, and called to Samuel yet the third time; and he rose up and went to Eli, and said, Lo! I am here; for thou hast called me. Then Eli understood, that the Lord had called the child;)

9 and Eli said to Samuel, Go thou and sleep; and if he calleth thee afterward, thou shalt say, Speak thou, Lord, for thy servant heareth. Then Samuel went and slept in his place.

10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as he had called the second time (and called to him as he had called the other times, saying), Samuel, Samuel. And Samuel said, Speak thou, Lord, for thy servant heareth.

11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Lo! I (shall) make a word, that is, (I shall do) a thing signified by a word, in Israel, which word whoever shall hear, both his ears shall ring, that is, he shall be astonished for wonder and dread.

12 In that day I shall raise up against Eli all (the) things that I have spoken upon his house; I shall begin (it), and I shall end (it).

13 For I before-said to him, that I should deem his house without end for the wickedness thereof; for he knew, that his sons did unworthily, and he chastised not them. (For I said to him before, that I would judge his family forevermore for its wickedness; and he knoweth, that his sons have done unworthily, and yet he hath not chastised them.)

14 Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the wickedness of his family, or his house, shall not be cleansed with sacrifices and gifts till into without end.

15 And then Samuel slept till the morrowtide, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord; and Samuel dreaded to show the revelation to Eli.

16 Therefore Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered and said, I am ready (And he answered, I am here).

17 And Eli asked him, What is the word that the Lord hath spoken to thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me; God do to thee these things, and increase these things, if thou hidest from me a word of all [the] words that be said to thee.

18 And Samuel showed to him all the words, and hid not (anything) from him. And Eli answered, He is the Lord; do he that, that is good in his eyes.

19 Forsooth Samuel increased (And so Samuel grew up), and the Lord was with him, and none of all his words felled into [the] earth, that is, (were) in vain, for all was (ful)filled.

20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew, that faithful Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. (And all Israel knew, from Dan to Beersheba, that truly Samuel was a prophet of the Lord.)

21 And the Lord added to appear again in Shiloh, for the Lord was showed to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord;

1 Samuel 3 Commentary

Chapter 3

The word of the Lord first revealed to Samuel. (1-10) God tells Samuel the destruction of Eli's house. (11-18) Samuel established to be a prophet. (19-21)

Verses 1-10 The call which Divine grace designs shall be made effectual; will be repeated till it is so, till we come to the call. Eli, perceiving that it was the voice of God that Samuel heard, instructed him what to say. Though it was a disgrace to Eli, for God's call to be directed to Samuel, yet he told him how to meet it. Thus the elder should do their utmost to assist and improve the younger that are rising up. Let us never fail to teach those who are coming after us, even such as will soon be preferred before us, ( John 1:30 ) . Good words should be put into children's mouths betimes, by which they may be prepared to learn Divine things, and be trained up to regard them.

Verses 11-18 What a great deal of guilt and corruption is there in us, concerning which we may say, It is the iniquity which our own heart knoweth; we are conscious to ourselves of it! Those who do not restrain the sins of others, when it is in their power to do it, make themselves partakers of the guilt, and will be charged as joining in it. In his remarkable answer to this awful sentence, Eli acknowledged that the Lord had a right to do as he saw good, being assured that he would do nothing wrong. The meekness, patience, and humility contained in those words, show that he was truly repentant; he accepted the punishment of his sin.

Verses 19-21 All increase in wisdom and grace, is owing to the presence of God with us. God will graciously repeat his visits to those who receive them aright. Early piety will be the greatest honour of young people. Those who honour God he will honour. Let young people consider the piety of Samuel, and from him they will learn to remember their Creator in the days of their youth. Young children are capable of religion. Samuel is a proof that their waiting upon the Lord will be pleasing to him. He is a pattern of all those amiable tempers, which are the brightest ornament of youth, and a sure source of happiness.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 3

This chapter gives an account of the Lord's calling to Samuel in the night season, which he first took for the voice of Eli, but being instructed by him, made answer to the voice, 1Sa 3:1-10, and of a message sent from him by Samuel to Eli, foretelling the destruction of his family, 1Sa 3:11-14 and of the delivery of it to him, which Samuel was first fearful of doing, but, encouraged by Eli, he delivered it to him, to which he patiently submitted, 1Sa 3:15-18 and the chapter is closed with the establishment of Samuel as a prophet of the Lord, who continued to appear and reveal himself to him, 1Sa 3:19-21.