Side by side
1 Samuel 3
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: A Quiet NightVerses 1 to 3
The lamp of God was still burning. It was late at night, and the house of the LORD at Shiloh was dark and still.
Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was kept. The ark was a gold-covered chest. It was the sign that God was with his people.
Eli was lying down in his own room. He was old, and his eyes were so weak that he could not see.
Samuel had grown up here, serving the LORD under Eli. His family lived in Ramah (2:11). Each year his mother, Hannah, came to Shiloh for the yearly sacrifice. She brought him a little robe she had made (2:19).
In those days, "the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce" (3:1). God was not speaking to people often. A vision is something God shows a person, often in a dream or while awake.
1And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce. 2And at that time Eli, whose eyesight had grown so dim that he could not see, was lying in his room. 3Before the lamp of God had gone out, Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was located.
Scene 2: "Here I Am"Verses 4 to 7
Then the LORD called Samuel.
Samuel answered, "Here I am" (3:4). He got up and ran to Eli.
"Here I am," Samuel said. "You called me."
"I did not call," Eli said. "Go back and lie down." So Samuel went back and lay down.
The LORD called again. "Samuel!" (3:6).
Samuel got up again and went to Eli. "Here I am. You called me."
"My son, I did not call," Eli said. "Go back and lie down."
Why didn't Samuel know it was God? The Bible tells us. "Samuel did not yet know the LORD" (3:7). God had never spoken to him before. Samuel served God at Shiloh. But he had never heard God's voice. So he thought the voice was Eli's.
4Then the LORD called to Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.” 5He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6Once again the LORD called, “Samuel!” So Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” “My son, I did not call,” Eli replied. “Go back and lie down.” 7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, because the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
Scene 3: The Third TimeVerses 8 to 10
The LORD called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up and went to Eli again. "Here I am. You called me."
This time, Eli understood. The LORD was calling the boy.
Eli told Samuel what to do. "Go and lie down. If he calls you again, say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening'" (3:9).
Samuel went back and lay down in his place.
Then the LORD came and stood there. He called as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" (3:10).
Samuel answered, "Speak, for Your servant is listening" (3:10).
A servant is someone who works for a master and does what the master says. Samuel was telling God that he was ready to hear.
8Once again, for the third time, the LORD called to Samuel. He got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you have called me.” Then Eli realized that it was the LORD who was calling the boy. 9“Go and lie down,” he said to Samuel, “and if He calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10Then the LORD came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant is listening.”
Scene 4: A Hard MessageVerses 11 to 14
The LORD spoke to Samuel. God said he was about to do something in Israel that would shock everyone who heard about it. God said it would make their ears "tingle" (3:11). This is a comparison. People would be deeply shocked when they heard the news.
God said he would do everything he had warned Eli about. He would judge Eli's family forever.
God gave the reason. Eli's sons had "blasphemed God," and Eli knew it. "He did not restrain them" (3:13). To blaspheme is to treat God with disrespect. To restrain is to stop someone.
Then God said something even harder. He had made a promise, called an oath. "The iniquity of Eli's house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering" (3:14). Iniquity means sin. Atoned for means made right with God. Eli's family could not fix this with any sacrifice.
This was God's first message to Samuel. It was a message of judgment.
11Then the LORD said to Samuel, “I am about to do something in Israel at which the ears of all who hear it will tingle. 12On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his family, from beginning to end. 13I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them. 14Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
Scene 5: MorningVerses 15 to 18
Samuel lay in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD.
Samuel was afraid to tell Eli what he had heard. The Bible does not say more about why. But remember: Samuel had lived and served with Eli since he was small.
Eli called him. "Samuel, my son."
"Here I am," answered Samuel (3:16).
"What did God tell you?" Eli asked. "Don't hide it from me." Then Eli used a strong old saying. He asked God to punish Samuel severely if Samuel hid anything.
So Samuel told Eli everything. He did not hide a thing.
Eli answered, "He is the LORD" (3:18). "Let Him do what is good in His eyes" (3:18).
15Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel. 17“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.” 18So Samuel told him everything and did not hide a thing from him. “He is the LORD,” replied Eli. “Let Him do what is good in His eyes.”
Scene 6: Samuel GrowsVerses 19 to 21
Samuel grew up, "and the LORD was with him" (3:19).
Everything God told Samuel to say came true. The Bible says God "let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground" (3:19). This is a comparison. None of his words were wasted or failed.
All Israel knew that Samuel was a true prophet of the LORD. People knew it from Dan in the far north to Beersheba in the far south.
The LORD kept showing himself at Shiloh. He spoke to Samuel there by his word.
At the start of this story, God's word was rare. Now God was speaking again. God started by calling a boy in the night. That boy did not yet know God.
19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and He let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD. 21And the LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, because there He revealed Himself to Samuel by His word.
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