1 Samuel 3–4

The Lord Calls Samuel

3^fNow the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. ^gAnd the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

²At that time Eli, ^hwhose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. ³ⁱThe lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down ^jin the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

⁴Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” ⁵and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

⁶And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

⁸And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” ¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel ^kat which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹²On that day I will fulfill against Eli ^lall that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13lAnd I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, ^mbecause his sons were blaspheming God,^{1 n}and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴Therefore I swear to the house of Eli ^othat the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. ¹⁶But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” ¹⁷And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. ^pMay God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” ¹⁸So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^q“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

^19rAnd Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him ^sand let none of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰And all Israel ^tfrom Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel ^uat Shiloh ^vby the word of the Lord.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at ^wEbenezer, and the Philistines encamped at ^xAphek. ²The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. ³And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here ^yfrom Shiloh, that it¹ may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” ⁴So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, ^zwho is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

⁵As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel ^agave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. ⁶And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, ⁷the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. ⁸Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. ^9bTake courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews ^cas they have been to you; be men and fight.”

¹⁰So the Philistines fought, ^dand Israel was defeated, ^eand they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. ^11fAnd the ark of God was captured, ^gand the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

¹²A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, ^hwith his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. ¹³When he arrived, ⁱEli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. ¹⁴When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. ¹⁵Now Eli was ninety-eight years old ^jand his eyes were set so that he could not see. ¹⁶And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, ^k“How did it go, my son?” ¹⁷He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” ¹⁸As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward ^lfrom his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. ²⁰And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, ^m“Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹And she named the child ⁿIchabod, saying, ^o“The glory has departed² from Israel!” because ^pthe ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. ²²And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, ^pfor the ark of God has been captured.”