Passage

1 Samuel 3.9-10

Book: 1 Samuel · ASV

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"7. Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither was the word of Jehovah yet revealed unto him. 8. And Jehovah called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah had called the child."

"9. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Jehovah; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10. And Jehovah came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel said, Speak; for thy servant heareth."

"11. And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. 12. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end." (1 Samuel 3:7-12, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"7. Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him. 8. Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child."

"9. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10. Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”"

"11. Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12. In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end." (1 Samuel 3:7-12, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"7. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. ^{Now: or, Thus did Samuel before he knew the LORD, and before the word of the LORD was revealed unto him} 8. And 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."

"9. Therefore 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. 10. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth."

"11. And 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. 12. In 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. ^{when: Heb. beginning and ending}" (1 Samuel 3:7-12, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"7. And Samuel hath not yet known Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah is not yet revealed unto him. 8. And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the third time, and he riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, 'Here [am] I, for thou hast called for me;' and Eli understandeth that Jehovah is calling to the youth."

"9. And Eli saith to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place. 10. And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, 'Samuel, Samuel;' and Samuel saith, 'Speak, for Thy servant is hearing.'"

"11. And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, 'Lo, I am doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one hearing it do tingle. 12. In that day I establish unto Eli all that I have spoken unto his house, beginning and completing;" (1 Samuel 3:7-12, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: narrator + Eli + YHWH + Samuel
Audience: Israel (the narrative-audience); the eventual covenant-community
Location: Shiloh, at the sanctuary housing the ark before Solomon's temple
Time period: late period of the judges, c. 1080-1050 BC

Theological reading

The narrative is the textbook OT shama-response: Samuel's posture before YHWH is speak, for thy servant heareth. The Hebrew construction dabber ki shomea avdeka binds speaking to hearing as a single covenant-event; the prophet's vocation is summoned-by-listening. Eli, despite his own failures with his sons, supplies the right form-of-response, the discerned-call requires the listener-posture. The passage anchors the prophetic-vocation pattern (the prophet hears before the prophet speaks; cf. Isa 6:8; Jer 1:4-10; Ezek 2-3; Amos 3:7-8) and supplies the discipleship-model for any covenantal-hearing event. The verbal repetition of the call (Samuel, Samuel, paralleled at Gen 22:11 Abraham, Abraham; Ex 3:4 Moses, Moses; Acts 9:4 Saul, Saul) is the OT-NT double-vocative of divine calling.

Key words

H8085 - shama, shoma', the verb of Samuel's response ("thy servant heareth"); the load-bearing covenantal-hearing verb.

Quoted in

H8085 - shama

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.