O Chamado de Samuel
1O menino Samuel ministrava perante o Senhor, sob a direção de Eli; naqueles dias raramente o Senhor falava, e as visões não eram frequentes.
2Certa noite, Eli, cujos olhos estavam ficando tão fracos que já não conseguia mais enxergar, estava deitado em seu lugar de costume. 3A lâmpada de Deus ainda não havia se apagado, e Samuel estava deitado no santuário do Senhor, onde se encontrava a arca de Deus. 4Então o Senhor chamou Samuel.
Samuel respondeu: “Estou aqui”. 5E correu até Eli e disse: “Estou aqui; o senhor me chamou?”
Eli, porém, disse: “Não o chamei; volte e deite-se”. Então, ele foi e se deitou.
6De novo o Senhor chamou: “Samuel!” E Samuel se levantou e foi até Eli e disse: “Estou aqui; o senhor me chamou?”
Disse Eli: “Meu filho, não o chamei; volte e deite-se”.
7Ora, Samuel ainda não conhecia o Senhor. A palavra do Senhor ainda não lhe havia sido revelada.
8O Senhor chamou Samuel pela terceira vez. Ele se levantou, foi até Eli e disse: “Estou aqui; o senhor me chamou?”
Eli percebeu que o Senhor estava chamando o menino 9e lhe disse: “Vá e deite-se; se ele chamá-lo, diga: ‘Fala, Senhor, pois o teu servo está ouvindo’ ”. Então Samuel foi deitar-se.
10O Senhor voltou a chamá-lo como nas outras vezes: “Samuel, Samuel!”
Samuel disse: “Fala, pois o teu servo está ouvindo”.
11E o Senhor disse a Samuel: “Vou realizar em Israel algo que fará tinir os ouvidos de todos os que ficarem sabendo. 12Nessa ocasião executarei contra Eli tudo o que falei contra sua família, do começo ao fim. 13Pois eu lhe disse que julgaria sua família para sempre, por causa do pecado dos seus filhos, do qual ele tinha consciência; seus filhos se fizeram desprezíveis3.13 Uma antiga tradição dos escribas hebreus e a Septuaginta dizem filhos blasfemaram contra Deus., e ele não os puniu. 14Por isso jurei à família de Eli: ‘Jamais se fará propiciação pela culpa da família de Eli mediante sacrifício ou oferta’ ”.
15Samuel ficou deitado até de manhã e então abriu as portas da casa do Senhor. Ele teve medo de contar a visão a Eli, 16mas este o chamou e disse: “Samuel, meu filho”.
“Estou aqui”, respondeu Samuel.
17Eli perguntou: “O que o Senhor disse a você? Não esconda de mim. Deus o castigue, e o faça com muita severidade, se você esconder de mim qualquer coisa que ele falou”. 18Então, Samuel lhe contou tudo e nada escondeu. Então Eli disse: “Ele é o Senhor; que faça o que lhe parecer melhor”.
19Enquanto Samuel crescia, o Senhor estava com ele e fazia com que todas as suas palavras se cumprissem. 20Todo o Israel, desde Dã até Berseba, reconhecia que Samuel estava confirmado como profeta do Senhor. 21O Senhor continuou aparecendo em Siló, onde havia se revelado a Samuel por meio de sua palavra.
The Lord Calls Out to Samuel
1The boy Samuel served the Lord under the direction of Eli. In those days the Lord didn’t give many messages to his people. He didn’t give them many visions.
2One night Eli was lying down in his usual place. His eyes were becoming so weak he couldn’t see very well. 3Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s house. That’s where the ark of God was kept. The lamp of God was still burning. 4The Lord called out to Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5He ran over to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
6Again the Lord called out, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.”
7Samuel didn’t know the Lord yet. That’s because the Lord still hadn’t given him a message.
8The Lord called out for the third time. He said, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If someone calls out to you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10The Lord came and stood there. He called out, just as he had done the other times. He said, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.”
11The Lord said to Samuel, “Pay attention! I am about to do something terrible in Israel. It will make the ears of everyone who hears about it tingle. 12At that time I will do everything to Eli and his family that I said I would. I will finish what I have started. 13I told Eli I would punish his family forever. He knew his sons were sinning. He knew they were saying bad things about me. In spite of that, he did not stop them. 14So I made a promise to the family of Eli. I said, ‘The sins of Eli’s family will never be paid for by bringing sacrifices or offerings.’ ”
15Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord’s house. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision he had received. 16But Eli called out to him. He said, “Samuel, my son.”
Samuel answered, “Here I am.”
17“What did the Lord say to you?” Eli asked. “Don’t hide from me anything he told you. If you do, may God punish you greatly.” 18So Samuel told him everything. He didn’t hide anything from him. Then Eli said, “He is the Lord. Let him do what he thinks is best.”
19As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him. He made everything Samuel said come true. 20So all the Israelites recognized that Samuel really was a prophet of the Lord. Everyone from Dan all the way to Beersheba knew it. 21The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh. There he made himself known to Samuel through the messages he gave him.
