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Today's Bible Reading :: 1 Samuel 1 - 3 (ESV)

1 Samuel 1Listen to the passage

1 Samuel 2Listen to the passage

1 Samuel 3Listen to the passage

1 Samuel 1

The Birth of Samuel

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:1 - There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:2 - He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:3 - Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:4 - On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:5 - But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the LORD had closed her womb.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:6 - And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:7 - So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:8 - And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:9 - After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:10 - She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:11 - And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:12 - As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed her mouth.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:13 - Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:14 - And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:15 - But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:16 - Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:17 - Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:18 - And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:19 - They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:20 - And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the LORD.”[fn]

Samuel Given to the Lord

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:21 - The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:22 - But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:23 - Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the LORD establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:24 - And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,[fn] an ephah[fn] of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh. And the child was young.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:25 - Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:26 - And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:27 - For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 1:28

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 1:28 - Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.
ESV Footnotes
Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Septuagint And, although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because the LORD had closed her womb
Samuel sounds like the Hebrew for heard of God
Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text three bulls
An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters

1 Samuel 2

Hannah’s Prayer

(cf. Luk 1:46–55 )

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:1 - And Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the LORD;
my horn is exalted in the LORD.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:2 - “There is none holy like the LORD:
for there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:3 - Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:4 - The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:5 - Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:6 - The LORD kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:7 - The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:8 - He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s,
and on them he has set the world.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:9 - “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:10 - The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces;
against them he will thunder in heaven.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:11 - Then Elkanah went home to Ramah. And the boy[fn] was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli the priest.

Eli’s Worthless Sons

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:12 - Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:13 - The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand,

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:14 - and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:15 - Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:16 - And if the man said to him, “Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish,” he would say, “No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:17 - Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:18 - Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:19 - And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:20 - Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the LORD give you children by this woman for the petition she asked of the LORD.” So then they would return to their home.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:21 - Indeed the LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew in the presence of the LORD.

Eli Rebukes His Sons

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:22

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:22 - Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:23

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:23 - And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all these people.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:24

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:24 - No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:25

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:25 - If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:26

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:26 - Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man.

The Lord Rejects Eli’s Household

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:27

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:27 - And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh?

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:28

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:28 - Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:29

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:29 - Why then do you scorn[fn] my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:30

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:30 - Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:31

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:31 - Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:32

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:32 - Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:33

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:33 - The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his[fn] eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants[fn] of your house shall die by the sword of men.[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:34

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:34 - And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:35

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:35 - And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 2:36

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 2:36 - And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’”
ESV Footnotes
Hebrew na‘ar can be rendered boy (2:11, 18, 21, 26; 3:1, 8), servant (2:13, 15), or young man (2:17), depending on the context
Hebrew kick at
Septuagint; Hebrew your; twice in this verse
Hebrew increase
Septuagint; Hebrew die as men

1 Samuel 3

The Lord Calls Samuel

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:1

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:1 - Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:2

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:2 - At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:3

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:3 - The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:4

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:4 - Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:5

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:5 - and 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:6

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:6 - 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.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:7

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:7 - Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:8

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:8 - And 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:9

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:9 - Therefore 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:10

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:10 - And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:11

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:11 - Then the LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:12

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:12 - On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:13

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:13 - And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God,[fn] and he did not restrain them.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:14

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:14 - Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:15

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:15 - Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:16

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:16 - But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:17

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:17 - And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:18

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:18 - So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:19

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:19 - And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:20

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:20 - And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.

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Unchecked Copy Box 1Sa 3:21

Unchecked Copy Box1Sa 3:21 - And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
See the ESV Preface
ESV Footnotes
Or blaspheming for themselves
ESV

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016, 2025 by Crossway Books and Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the ESV Preface.

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