1 Samuel 3–4

3RD CHAPTER

The Lord Calls Samuel

¹The boy Samuel was serving the Lord under Eli. In those days a prophecy from the Lord was rare; visions were infrequent. ²One night Eli was lying down in his room. His eyesight had begun to fail so that he couldn’t see well. ³The lamp in God’s temple^ahadn’t gone out yet, and Samuel was asleep in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was kept. 

⁴Then the Lord called Samuel. “Here I am,” Samuel responded. ⁵He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” 

“I didn’t call ⸤you⸥,” Eli replied. “Go back to bed.” So Samuel went back and lay down. 

⁶The Lord called Samuel again. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.” 

“I didn’t call ⸤you⸥, son,” he responded. “Go back to bed.” ⁷Samuel had no experience with the Lord, because the Lord’s word had not yet been revealed to him. 

⁸The Lord called Samuel a third time. Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, “Here I am. You called me.” 

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹“Go, lie down,” Eli told Samuel. “When he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his room. 

¹⁰The Lord came and stood there. He called as he had called the other times: “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.” 

¹¹Then the Lord said to Samuel, “I am going to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears it ring. ¹²On that day I am going to do to Eli and his family everything I said from beginning to end. ¹³I told him that I would hand down a permanent judgment against his household because he knew about his sons’ sin—that they were cursing God^b—but he didn’t try to stop them. ¹⁴That is why I have taken an oath concerning Eli’s family line: No offering or sacrifice will ever ⸤be able to⸥ make peace for the sins that Eli’s family committed.” 

¹⁵Samuel remained in bed until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 

¹⁶Then Eli called Samuel. “Samuel, my son!” he said. 

“Here I am,” he responded. 

¹⁷“What did the Lord tell you?” he asked. “Please don’t hide anything from me. May God strike you dead if you hide anything he told you from me.” 

¹⁸So Samuel told Eli everything. 

Eli replied, “He is the Lord. May he do what he thinks is right.” 

¹⁹Samuel grew up. The Lord was with him and didn’t let any of his words go unfulfilled. ²⁰All Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew Samuel was the Lord’s appointed prophet. ²¹The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, since the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the Lord’s word. And Samuel spoke to all Israel.^c

4TH CHAPTER

The Army Sends for the Ark

¹Israel went to fight against the Philistines and camped near Ebenezer while the Philistines camped at Aphek. ²The Philistines organized their troops to meet Israel in battle. As the battle spread,the Philistines defeated Israel and killed about 4,000 soldiers in the field. 

³When the troops came back to the camp, the leaders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord used the Philistines to defeat us today? Let’s get the ark of the Lord’s promise from Shiloh so that he may be with us and save us from our enemies.” ⁴The troops sent some men who brought back the ark of the promise of the Lord of Armies—who is enthroned over the angels.^bEli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came along with God’s ark. ⁵When the Lord’s ark came into the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth rang with echoes. 

⁶As the Philistines heard the noise, they asked, “What’s ⸤all⸥ this shouting in the Hebrew camp?” The Philistines found out that the Lord’s ark had come into the camp. ⁷Then they were frightened and said, “A god has come into ⸤their⸥ camp.” They also said, “Oh no! Nothing like this has ever happened before. ⁸We’re in trouble now! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the desert. ⁹Be strong, Philistines, and act like men, or else you will serve the Hebrews as they served you. Act like men and fight.” 

The Ark Captured

¹⁰The Philistines fought and defeated Israel. Every ⸤Israelite⸥ soldier fled to his tent. It was a major defeat in which 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers died. ¹¹The ark of God was captured. Both of Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died. 

¹²A man from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the front line of the battle. He went to Shiloh that day with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.^c13When he arrived, Eli was sitting on a chair beside the road, watching. He was worried about the ark of God. The man went into the city to tell the news. The whole city cried out. ¹⁴Hearing the cry, Eli asked, “What is this commotion?” So the man went quickly to tell Eli the news. ¹⁵(Eli was 98 years old, and his eyesight had failed so that he couldn’t see.) 

¹⁶The man told Eli, “I’m the one who came from the battle. I fled from the front line today.” 

“What happened, son?” Eli asked. 

¹⁷“Israel fled from the Philistines,” the messenger answered. “Our troops suffered heavy casualties. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, also are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 

¹⁸When the messenger mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell from his chair backwards toward the gate. He broke his neck, and he died. (The man was old and heavy.) He had judged^dIsrael for 40 years. 

¹⁹His daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor prematurely and gave birth to a son. ²⁰As she was dying, the women helping her said, “Don’t be afraid. You’ve given birth to a son.” But she didn’t answer or pay attention. 

²¹She called the boy Ichabod ^[No Glory^[, saying, “Israel’s glory is gone,” because the ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and her husband ⸤died⸥. ²²“Israel’s glory is gone because the ark of God has been captured,” she said.