The Lord Calls Samuel
1The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.
2One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4Then the Lord called Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5And 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.
6Again 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.”
7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
8A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9So 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.
10The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
11And the Lord said to Samuel: “See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family—from beginning to end. 13For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God,3:13 An ancient Hebrew scribal tradition (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text sons made themselves contemptible and he failed to restrain them. 14Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’ ”
15Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16but 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.” 18So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”
19The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.
Herren taler til Samuel og gør ham til profet
1-2På den tid var et budskab fra Herren en sjældenhed, og et syn var noget ganske usædvanligt. Samuel var endnu ganske ung og gjorde tjeneste i helligdommen under opsyn af Eli, som nu var næsten helt blind. En aften skete der noget. Eli havde lagt sig til at sove på sin sædvanlige plads. 3Lamperne brændte for Guds ansigt inde i helligdommen, hvor Samuel havde lagt sig til hvile, og hvor pagtens ark også stod. 4Pludselig kaldte Herren: „Samuel! Samuel!” „Ja,” svarede Samuel 5og løb ind til Eli: „Du kaldte? Her er jeg!” Men Eli svarede: „Nej, jeg kaldte ikke på dig. Gå du bare ind og læg dig igen.” Det gjorde Samuel så. 6Men Herren kaldte igen: „Samuel! Samuel!” Atter sprang Samuel op og løb ind til Eli: „Du kaldte! Hvad er der?” „Nej,” svarede Eli, „jeg kaldte ikke. Gå nu ind og læg dig.” 7Samuel vidste ikke, at det var Herren, som kaldte, for han havde aldrig før oplevet, at Herren talte til ham. 8Så da Herren kaldte for tredje gang, sprang Samuel igen op, løb ind til Eli og sagde: „Du kaldte! Hvad kan jeg hjælpe dig med?” Da gik det op for Eli, at det var Herren, som havde kaldt på drengen; 9og han sagde til Samuel: „Gå ind og læg dig. Hvis nogen kalder på dig igen, skal du svare: ‚Ja, Herre, din tjener lytter.’ ” Så gik Samuel tilbage og lagde sig igen.
10Da kom Herren og kaldte på ham som før: „Samuel! Samuel!” Denne gang svarede Samuel: „Ja, Herre, din tjener lytter.”
11„Jeg vil lade noget ske i Israel, som vil chokere enhver, der hører om det,” sagde Herren. 12„Da vil alt det, jeg har forudsagt om Elis slægt, gå i opfyldelse. 13Sig til ham, at hans slægt er dømt for evigt, for selv om han vidste, at hans sønner ringeagtede mig, så gjorde han intet for at standse dem. 14Derfor har jeg svoret, at Elis og hans sønners synd aldrig vil blive tilgivet ved nogen form for offer.”
15Samuel blev liggende til det blev morgen. Så åbnede han døren til helligdommen og gik udenfor; for han var bange for at fortælle Eli, hvad Herren havde sagt. 16Imidlertid kaldte Eli på ham: „Samuel, min dreng!” „Ja,” svarede Samuel. 17„Hvad sagde Herren?” spurgte Eli. „Fortæl mig det hele. Må Gud straffe dig, hvis du skjuler noget for mig!” 18Så fortalte Samuel ham alt, hvad Herren havde sagt. „Hvem kan sætte sig op mod Herren?” sukkede Eli. „Han må gøre, hvad han finder bedst.”
19Herren velsignede Samuel allerede under hans opvækst og opfyldte alle de profetiske ord, han gav ham, 20så hele Israel fra Dan i nord til Be’ersheba i syd var klar over, at Samuel var en sand profet. 21Herren fortsatte med at åbenbare sig i Shilo, og Samuel gav Guds åbenbaring videre.
