1 Samuel 3
The full text of 1 Samuel 3 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.
2 One night Eli was lying down in his usual place. His eyes had begun to grow so weak that he could barely see.
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.
4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."
5 He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.
6 Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "I did not call, my son," Eli said. "Go back and lie down."
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD; the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.
8 A third time the LORD called, "Samuel!" And he got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy.
9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 The LORD came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
11 And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.
12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family, from beginning to end.
13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them.
14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.'"
15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
16 but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am."
17 "What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you."
18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes."
19 The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground.
20 And all Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, for there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
Translation notes (12)
- 1 Samuel 3:1a 'Rare' translates a word meaning precious or scarce; this phrase and the next together mean that revelation from God had become uncommon, which sets the stage for the call that follows.
- 1 Samuel 3:3a 'Temple' here refers to the sanctuary at Shiloh, which was a tent-shrine that housed the ark, not the later temple in Jerusalem.
- 1 Samuel 3:7a 'Did not yet know the LORD' describes a personal, experienced acquaintance with God through revelation, not simply being unaware of God's existence. Samuel had served at the sanctuary since childhood.
- 1 Samuel 3:10a Samuel omits the word 'LORD' from the answer Eli gave him; the text simply reports what Samuel said.
- 1 Samuel 3:11a 'Make the ears tingle' is a Hebrew expression for shocking, dreadful news; it appears again at 2 Kings 21:12 and Jeremiah 19:3.
- 1 Samuel 3:12a 'From beginning to end' translates two Hebrew words that mean 'to begin' and 'to finish'; this means the LORD will completely carry out the entire judgment already announced against Eli's family in chapter 2.
- 1 Samuel 3:13a The standard Hebrew text (MT) reads 'his sons were bringing a curse on themselves,' which is widely regarded as a scribal softening (a tiqqun) of an original reading, 'his sons were cursing God.' The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, preserves this bolder original reading. The bolder reading is given here, with the reading from the standard Hebrew text noted.
- 1 Samuel 3:13b 'He failed to restrain them' literally means 'he did not rebuke them,' or with some readings, 'did not weaken/dim them,' that is, he did not control their behavior.
- 1 Samuel 3:14a This oath uses the Hebrew form of a curse upon oneself ('if it is atoned for...'), which is a strong negative meaning it will never be atoned for. The verse concerns this specific guilt, not atonement in general.
- 1 Samuel 3:17a 'May God deal with you, be it ever so severely' translates a standard Hebrew oath formula ('so may God do to you, and more also') used to bind a person under the threat of divine punishment.
- 1 Samuel 3:19a 'Let none of his words fall to the ground' is an expression meaning that every word Samuel spoke came true; compare the same image at 2 Kings 10:10.
- 1 Samuel 3:20a 'From Dan to Beersheba' is a common phrase for the entire land of Israel, from north to south.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own translation of Scripture, made directly from the original Hebrew rather than revised from an older English Bible. Completed in 2026, it is the most modern English Bible translation available, and it is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Reading the TBV here on the web is free — the full study edition, with original-language tools and notes on every verse, lives in the Trinity Bible app.
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