Samuel is four times called by the Lord: who reveals to him the evil that shall fall on Heli, and his house.

¹ Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no manifest vision.¹

1. 3:1Precious: That is, rare.(Challoner)

² Then it happened that, on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place. And his eyes had dimmed, so that he was unable to see.

³ And so, to prevent the lamp of God from going out, Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

⁴ And the Lord called Samuel. And responding, he said, “Here I am.”

⁵ And he ran to Eli, and he said, “Here I am. For you called me.” And he said: “I did not call. Return and sleep.” And he went away, and he slept.

⁶ And again, the Lord continued to call to Samuel. And rising up, Samuel went to Eli, and he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” And he responded: “I did not call you, my son. Return and sleep.”

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him.

⁸ And the Lord continued, and he called to Samuel still a third time. And rising up, he went to Eli.

⁹ And he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy. And he said to Samuel: “Go and sleep. And if he calls to you from now on, you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” Therefore, Samuel went away, and he slept in his place.

¹⁰ And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, just as he had called the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” And Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

¹¹ And the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I am accomplishing a word in Israel. Whoever will hear about it, both his ears will ring.

¹² In that day, I will raise up against Eli all the things that I have spoken over his house. I will begin, and I will finish.

¹³ For I have foretold to him that I will judge his house unto eternity, because of iniquity. For he had known that his sons acted shamefully, and he did not chastise them.¹

1. 3:13Eli’s mild verbal rebuke of his sons was not acceptable to the Lord. For Eli had authority over his sons and the other priests, and so he should have acted with authority, rather than merely pleading as one might do who lacks authority. If Eli did not have authority, he would be without guilt. But because he had the authority to correct and did not do so, he is guilty.(Conte)

¹⁴ For this reason, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house will not be expiated, with victims or with gifts, even forever.”

¹⁵ Then Samuel slept until morning, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel, and he said, “Samuel, my son?” And responding, he said, “I am here.”

¹⁷ And he questioned him: “What is the word that the Lord has spoken to you? I beg you that you may not conceal it from me. May God do these things to you, and may he add these other things, if you hide from me one word out of all the things that were told to you.”

¹⁸ And so, Samuel revealed to him all the words, and he did not hide them from him. And he responded: “He is the Lord. May he do what is good in his own eyes.”

¹⁹ And Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground.

²⁰ And all of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew Samuel to be a faithful prophet of the Lord.

²¹ And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh. For the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh, according to the word of the Lord. And the word about Samuel went forth to all of Israel.