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APRIL 30
does for Israel. And there shall not be an old Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called
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man in your house forever. But any of your the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie
men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you
consume your eyes and grieve your heart. must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant
And all the descendants of your house shall hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his
die in the flower of their age. Now this shall place.
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be a sign to you that will come upon your two 10 Now the LORD came and stood and called
sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
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they shall die, both of them. Then I will raise And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your ser-
up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do vant hears.”
according to what is in My heart and in My 11 Then the LORD said to Samuel: “Behold, I
mind. I will build him a sure house, and he will do something in Israel at which both ears
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shall walk before My anointed forever. And it of everyone who hears it will tingle. In that
shall come to pass that everyone who is left in day I will perform against Eli all that I have
your house will come and bow down to him spoken concerning his house, from beginning
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for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and to end. For I have told him that I will judge
say, “Please, put me in one of the priestly posi- his house forever for the iniquity which he
tions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ” knows, because his sons made themselves
Now the boy Samuel ministered to the vile, and he did not restrain them. And there-
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3 LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD fore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the
was rare in those days; there was no wide- iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for
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spread revelation. And it came to pass at that by sacrifice or offering forever.”
time, while Eli was lying down in his place, 15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and
and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim opened the doors of the house of the LORD.
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that he could not see, and before the lamp of And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel,
where the ark of God was, and while Samuel my son!”
was lying down, that the LORD called Samuel. He answered, “Here I am.”
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And he answered, “Here I am!” So he ran to 17 And he said, “What is the word that the
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LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from
me. God do so to you, and more also, if you
hide anything from me of all the things that
He said to you.” Then Samuel told him every-
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3:1 the boy Samuel. Samuel was no longer a thing, and hid nothing from him. And he said,
child (2:21,26).While Jewish historian Josephus “It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good
suggested he was 12 years of age, he was to Him.”
probably a teenager at this time. The same 19 So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with
Hebrew term translated here “boy” was used him and let none of his words fall to the
of David when he slew Goliath (17:33). the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to
word of the LORD was rare. The time of the
judges was a period of extremely limited Beersheba knew that Samuel had been estab-
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prophetic activity. The few visions that God lished as a prophet of the LORD. Then the
did give were not widely known. revelation. LORD appeared again in Shiloh. For the LORD
Literally,“vision.”A divine revelation mediated revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the
through an auditory or visual encounter. word of the LORD.
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. 3:19 the LORD was with him. The Lord’s pres-
6 Then the LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” ence was with Samuel, as it would be later
So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, with David (16:18; 18:12). The Lord’s presence
“Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, validated His choice of a man for His service.
“I did not call, my son; lie down again.” (Now let none of his words fall to the ground.
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Samuel did not yet know the LORD, nor was Everything Samuel said with divine authoriza-
the word of the LORD yet revealed to him.) tion came true. This fulfillment of Samuel’s
8 And the LORD called Samuel again the third word proved that he was a true prophet of
time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, God (see Deut. 18:21,22).
“Here I am, for you did call me.”

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