1 Samuel 3:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And 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."

NIV: Again the Lord called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down."

NASB: And the Lord called yet again, 'Samuel!' So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' But he said, 'I did not call, my son, go back and lie down.'

CSB: Once again the Lord called, "Samuel!" Samuel got up, went to Eli, and said, "Here I am; you called me." "I didn’t call, my son," he replied. "Go back and lie down."

NLT: Then the Lord called out again, 'Samuel!' Again Samuel got up and went to Eli. 'Here I am. Did you call me?' 'I didn’t call you, my son,' Eli said. 'Go back to bed.'

KJV: And 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.

NKJV: Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!” So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.”

This verse repeats the action of the previous two verses nearly exactly (1 Samuel 3:4–5). Both Samuel and Eli must have been a bit confused. One difference with this second incident is that the Lord is quoted as calling out to Samuel emphatically: "Samuel!"

Once again, young Samuel does not hesitate but immediately jumps up and runs to where Eli is lying down. He says it again: I'm here because you called to me. Eli again tells Samuel that he did not call and tells the boy to go back and lie down again. Apparently Samuel does so without a challenge. Whether Samuel, or Eli, have begun to suspect anything unusual by now is not stated.

First Samuel 3:1–14 finds both Samuel and Eli a bit older, though Samuel is still called a boy. Sometime before dawn, Samuel is sleeping in the temple and hears his name called. He runs to Eli, who tells him to go back to bed. When it happens a third time, Eli tells Samuel it is the Lord. The Lord reveals to Samuel that He is going to bring judgment on Eli and his household for Eli's failure to restrain the blasphemy of his sons against the Lord.

Samuel is just a boy when the Lord calls Him to serve as a prophet in Israel. Sleeping in the temple, Samuel hears his name and thinks Eli the priest is calling him. Eli finally tells Samuel it is the Lord. The Lord tells Samuel that He is going to fulfill His judgment against Eli and his household for the sins of Eli's sons and for Eli's failure to restrain them. Samuel delivers the entire message to Eli and begins his lifelong career as an official prophet of the Lord.

First Samuel 3 follows the prophecy of judgment against Eli and his household at the end of the previous chapter (1 Samuel 2:27–36) with a repeat of the prophecy through the words of young Samuel. Eli helps the boy to understand the Lord is speaking to him, and Samuel delivers the Lord's harsh message. Eli accepts Samuel's word, passively accepting whatever God will do. The next chapters explain Eli's death and Israel's renewed conflict with the Philistines.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.