So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.
Parallel translations
- WEB Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.
- KJV And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
- BSB Samuel lay down until the morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision,
- NASB So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.
- NLT Samuel stayed in bed until morning, then got up and opened the doors of the Tabernacle as usual. He was afraid to tell Eli what the Lord had said to him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Samuel resumes his duties but is afraid to tell Eli the hard vision he received. Faithfully delivering God's word can be costly and frightening.
Overview
Samuel rises and opens the doors of the LORD's house as usual, yet dreads sharing the message of judgment with his mentor. His fear shows his humility and tenderness, even as he must speak hard truth. The tension between compassion and faithfulness foreshadows the burden carried by every true prophet and supremely by Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 1:6–8Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
- 1 Sam 1:9So Hannah rose up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his seat by the doorpost of Yahweh’s temple.
- Mal 1:10“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you,” says Yahweh of Armies, “neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
- 1 Cor 16:10–11Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear, for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 3:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.