1 Samuel 3

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Now, the boy Samuel was serving Yahweh in the presence of Eli; in those days it was rare for Yahwehto speak; visions were uncommon.	1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no manifest vision.
2 One day, it happened that Eli was lying down in his room. His eyes were beginning to grow dim; hecould no longer see.	2 Then it happened that, on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place. And his eyes had dimmed, so that he was unable to see.
3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying in Yahweh's sanctuary, where the ark ofGod was,	3 And so, to prevent the lamp of God from going out, Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
4 when Yahweh cal ed, 'Samuel! Samuel!' He answered, 'Here I am,'	4 And the Lord called Samuel. And responding, he said, “Here I am.”
5 and, running to Eli, he said, 'Here I am, as you cal ed me.' Eli said, 'I did not call. Go back and lie down.'So he went and lay down.	5 And he ran to Eli, and he said, “Here I am. For you called me.” And he said: “I did not call. Return and sleep.” And he went away, and he slept.
6 And again Yahweh cal ed, 'Samuel! Samuel!' He got up and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, as youcal ed me.' He replied, 'I did not cal , my son; go back and lie down.'	6 And again, the Lord continued to call to Samuel. And rising up, Samuel went to Eli, and he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” And he responded: “I did not call you, my son. Return and sleep.”
7 As yet, Samuel had no knowledge of Yahweh and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed tohim.	7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him.
8 Again Yahweh called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, 'Here I am, as you cal ed me.'Eli then understood that Yahweh was cal ing the child,	8 And the Lord continued, and he called to Samuel still a third time. And rising up, he went to Eli.
9 and he said to Samuel, 'Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, "Speak, Yahweh; for your servant islistening." ' So Samuel went and lay down in his place.	9 And he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy. And he said to Samuel: “Go and sleep. And if he calls to you from now on, you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” Therefore, Samuel went away, and he slept in his place.
10 Yahweh then came and stood by, cal ing as he had done before, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Samuelanswered, 'Speak, Yahweh; for your servant is listening.'	10 And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, just as he had called the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” And Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
11 Yahweh then said to Samuel, 'I am going to do something in Israel which wil make the ears of all whohear of it ring.	11 And the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I am accomplishing a word in Israel. Whoever will hear about it, both his ears will ring.
12 I shal carry out that day against Eli everything that I have said about his family, from beginning to end.	12 In that day, I will raise up against Eli all the things that I have spoken over his house. I will begin, and I will finish.
13 You are to tel him that I condemn his family for ever, since he is aware that his sons have beencursing God and yet has not corrected them.	13 For I have foretold to him that I will judge his house unto eternity, because of iniquity. For he had known that his sons acted shamefully, and he did not chastise them.
14 Therefore -- I swear it to the family of Eli -- no sacrifice or offering shal ever expiate the guilt of Eli'sfamily.'	14 For this reason, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house will not be expiated, with victims or with gifts, even forever.”
15 Samuel lay where he was until morning and then opened the doors of Yahweh's temple. Samuel wasafraid to tel Eli about the vision,	15 Then Samuel slept until morning, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.
16 but Eli cal ed Samuel and said, 'Samuel, my son.' 'Here I am,' he replied.	16 Then Eli called Samuel, and he said, “Samuel, my son?” And responding, he said, “I am here.”
17 Eli asked, 'What message did he give you? Please do not hide it from me. May God bring unnameableil s on you and worse ones, too, if you hide from me anything of what he said to you.'	17 And he questioned him: “What is the word that the Lord has spoken to you? I beg you that you may not conceal it from me. May God do these things to you, and may he add these other things, if you hide from me one word out of all the things that were told to you.”
18 Samuel then told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Eli said, 'He is Yahweh; let him do what hethinks good.'	18 And so, Samuel revealed to him all the words, and he did not hide them from him. And he responded: “He is the Lord. May he do what is good in his own eyes.”
19 Samuel grew up. Yahweh was with him and did not let a single word fal to the ground of all that hehad told him.	19 And Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground.
20 Al Israel knew, from Dan to Beersheba, that Samuel was attested as a prophet of Yahweh.	20 And all of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew Samuel to be a faithful prophet of the Lord.
21 Yahweh continued to manifest himself at Shiloh, revealing himself to Samuel there,	21 And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh. For the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh, according to the word of the Lord. And the word about Samuel went forth to all of Israel.