1 Samuel 3

The Lord Calls Samuel

1 Now a the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And b the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.

2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow c so dim that he could not see, 3 and before d the lamp of God went out in the 1 tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,

4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, "Here I am!" 5 So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down.

6 Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." 7 (Now Samuel e did not yet know the LORD, nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.)

8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, f 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant hears." 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: "Behold, I will do something in Israel g at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 "In that day I will perform against Eli h all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 i "For I have told him that I will j judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because k his sons made themselves vile, and he l did not 2 restrain them. 14 "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house m shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever."

15 So Samuel lay down until 3 morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" He answered, "Here I am." 17 And he said, "What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. n God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you." 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, o "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him."

19 So Samuel p grew, and q the LORD was with him r and let none of his words 4 fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel s from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been 5 established as a prophet of the LORD. 21 Then the LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by t the word of the LORD.

  1. Cross References
    1 Kings 2:27
    So Solomon removed Abiathar from being priest to the LORD, that he might fulfill the word of the LORD which He spoke concerning the house of Eli at Shiloh.
  2. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:11
    Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest.
    1 Samuel 2:18
    But Samuel ministered before the LORD, even as a child, wearing a linen ephod.
  3. Cross References
    Psalms 74:9
    We do not see our signs; There is no longer any prophet; Nor is there any among us who knows how long.
    Ezekiel 7:26
    Disaster will come upon disaster, And rumor will be upon rumor. Then they will seek a vision from a prophet; But the law will perish from the priest, And counsel from the elders.
    Amos 8:11
    Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.
    Amos 8:12
    They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.
  4. Cross References
    Genesis 27:1
    Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son." And he answered him, "Here I am.
    Genesis 48:10
    Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
    1 Samuel 4:15
    Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see.
  5. Cross References
    Exodus 27:20
    And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.
    Exodus 27:21
    In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.
  6. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:12
    Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.
    Acts 19:2
    He said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.
    1 Corinthians 13:11
    When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
  7. Cross References
    1 Kings 2:17
    Then he said, "Please speak to King Solomon, for he will not refuse you, that he may give me Abishag the Shunammite as wife.
  8. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:12
    Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle.
    Jeremiah 19:3
    And say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.
  9. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:27 - 36
    Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
    Ezekiel 12:25
    "For I am the LORD. I speak, and the word which I speak will come to pass; it will no more be postponed; for in your days, O rebellious house, I will say the word and perform it," says the Lord GOD.'"
    Luke 21:33
    Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
  10. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:29 - 31
    'Why do you kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?'
  11. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:22
    Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
    Ezekiel 7:3
    Now the end has come upon you, And I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations.
    Ezekiel 18:30
    Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
  12. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:12
    Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.
    1 Samuel 2:17
    Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
    1 Samuel 2:22
    Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
  13. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:23
    So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people.
    1 Samuel 2:25
    If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?" Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to kill them.
  14. Cross References
    Numbers 15:30
    But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people.
    Numbers 15:31
    'Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.'"
    Isaiah 22:14
    Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, "Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death," says the Lord GOD of hosts.
    Hebrews 10:4
    For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
    Hebrews 10:26 - 31
    For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.
  15. Cross References
    Ruth 1:17
    Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.
  16. Cross References
    Genesis 24:50
    Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, "The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you either bad or good.
    Exodus 34:5 - 7
    Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
    Leviticus 10:3
    And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace.
    Isaiah 39:8
    So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good!" For he said, "At least there will be peace and truth in my days.
    Acts 5:39
    "but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it - lest you even be found to fight against God."
  17. Cross References
    1 Samuel 2:21
    And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD.
  18. Cross References
    Genesis 21:22
    And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.
    Genesis 28:15
    "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."
    Genesis 39:2
    The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
    Genesis 39:21
    But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
    Genesis 39:23
    The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
  19. Cross References
    1 Samuel 9:6
    And he said to him, "Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.
  20. Cross References
    Judges 20:1
    So all the children of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, as well as from the land of Gilead, and the congregation gathered together as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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