1 Samuel 3

1 Samuel · Chapter 3

1 Samuel 3:1

1And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.2And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;3And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;4That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.5And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.6And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.7Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him.8And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.9Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.10And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.11And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.12In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.13For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.14And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.15And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.16Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.17And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.18And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.19And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.20And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.21And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
1And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.And the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. Now in those days the word of the LORD was rare and visions were scarce.And the child Samuel ministered unto Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was precious in those days; there was no frequent vision.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and the ladוְהַנַּ֧עַרve-ha-NA-'arH5288
youth

נַ֫עַר (na.ar) 1) a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer 1a) boy, lad, youth 1b) servant, retainer

Samuelשְׁמוּאֵ֛לshe-mu-'ELH8050G
Samuel

שְׁמוּאֵל (she.mu.el) A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.1.20; son of: Elkanah (H0511H) and Hannah (H2584); father of: Joel (H3100) and Abijah (H0029) Also named: Samouēl (Σαμουήλ "Samuel" G4545) § Samuel = "his name is El" 1) son of Elkanah by his wife Hannah and judge or prophet of Israel during the days of Saul and David 2) son Ammihud and the prince of the tribe of Simeon who was chosen to divide the land of Canaan between the tribes. Spelled 'Shemuel' 3) son of Tola and grandson of Issachar. Spelled 'Shemuel'

[was] servingמְשָׁרֵ֥תme-sha-RETH8334
to minister

שָׁרַת (sha.rat) (Piel) to minister, serve, minister to

Yahwehיְהוָ֖הYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

to beforeלִפְנֵ֣יlif-NEIH6440G
face: before

פָּנֶה (pa.neh) : before/to/front 1) face 1a) face, faces 1b) presence, person 1c) face (of seraphim or cherubim) 1d) face (of animals) 1e) face, surface (of ground) 1f) as adv of loc/temp 1f1) before and behind, toward, in front of, forward, formerly, from beforetime, before 1g) with prep 1g1) in front of, before, to the front of, in the presence of, in the face of, at the face or front of, from the presence of, from before, from before the face of

Eliעֵלִ֑י'e-LIH5941
Eli

עֵלִי (e.li) A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Sa.1.3; father of: Hophni (H2652), Phinehas (H6372H) § Eli = "ascension" descendant of Aaron through Ithamar and high priest and judge of Israel when Samuel entered service as a child

and [the] word ofוּדְבַר־u-de-var-H1697G
word

דָּבָר (da.var) : word/speech/command 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words 1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner (by extension)

Yahwehיְהוָ֗הYAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

it wasהָיָ֤הha-YAHH1961
to be

הָיָה (ha.yah) 1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out 1a) (Qal) 1a1) --- 1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass 1a1b) to come about, come to pass 1a2) to come into being, become 1a2a) to arise, appear, come 1a2b) to become 1a2b1) to become 1a2b2) to become like 1a2b3) to be instituted, be established 1a3) to be 1a3a) to exist, be in existence 1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time) 1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality) 1a3d) to accompany, be with 1b) (Niphal) …

rareיָקָר֙ya-KARH3368
precious

יָקָר (ya.qar) 1) valuable, prized, weighty, precious, rare, splendid 1a) precious 1a1) costly 1a2) precious, highly valued 1a3) precious stones or jewels 1b) rare 1c) glorious, splendid 1d) weighty, influential

in the daysבַּיָּמִ֣יםbai-ya-MIMH3117G
day

יוֹם (yom) : day/when/time/period 1) day, time, year 1a) day (as opposed to night) 1b) day (24 hour period) 1b1) as defined by evening and morning in Genesis 1 1b2) as a division of time 1b2a) a working day, a day's journey 1c) days, lifetime (pl.) 1d) time, period (general) 1e) year 1f) temporal references 1f1) today 1f2) yesterday 1f3) tomorrow

the thoseהָהֵ֔םha-HEMH1992
they

אִנּוּן (in.nun) these, those, they Aramaic of hem.mah (הֵ֫מָּה "they(masc.)" H1992)

notאֵ֥ין'einH0369
nothing

אַ֫יִן (a.yin) 1) nothing, not, nought n 1a) nothing, nought neg 1b) not 1c) to have not (of possession) adv 1d) without w/prep 1e) for lack of

visionחָז֖וֹןcha-ZONH2377
vision

חֱזוּ (che.zev) 1) vision, appearance 1a) vision 1b) appearance

[was] spread outנִפְרָֽץ׃ סnif-RATZH6555
to break through

פָּרַץ (pa.rats) 1) to break through or down or over, burst, breach 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to break or burst out (from womb or enclosure) 1a2) to break through or down, make a breach in 1a3) to break into 1a4) to break open 1a5) to break up, break in pieces 1a6) to break out (violently) upon 1a7) to break over (limits), increase 1a8) to use violence 1a9) to burst open 1a10) to spread, distribute 1b) (Niphal) to be broken through 1c) (Pual) to be broken down 1d) (Hithpael) to break away

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.