31 And the boy Samuel ministered to Jehovah before Eli. And the word of Jehovah was rare in those days; a vision was not frequent. 2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli lay in his place (now his eyes began to grow dim, he could not see), 3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel lay in the temple of Jehovah, where the ark of God was, 4 that Jehovah called to Samuel. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he ran to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call: lie down again. And he went and lay down. 6 And Jehovah called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I did not call, my son: lie down again. 7 Now Samuel did not yet know Jehovah, neither had the word of Jehovah yet been revealed to him. 8 And Jehovah called again the third time, Samuel! And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And Eli perceived that Jehovah was calling the boy. 9 And Eli said to 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 the other times, Samuel, Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for thy servant heareth.
11 And Jehovah said to Samuel, Behold, I 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; I will begin and make an end. 13 For I have declared to him that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he hath known: because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. 14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be expiated with sacrifice or oblation for ever. 15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of Jehovah. And Samuel feared to declare the vision to Eli. 16 And Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I. 17 And he said, What is the word that he has spoken to thee? I pray thee, keep it not back from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou keep back anything from me of all the word that he spoke to thee. 18 And Samuel told him all the words, and kept nothing back from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what is good in his sight.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 3:1-18
Commentary on 1 Samuel 3:1-10
(Read 1 Samuel 3:1-10)
The call which Divine grace designs shall be made effectual; will be repeated till it is so, till we come to the call. Eli, perceiving that it was the voice of God that Samuel heard, instructed him what to say. Though it was a disgrace to Eli, for God's call to be directed to Samuel, yet he told him how to meet it. Thus the elder should do their utmost to assist and improve the younger that are rising up. Let us never fail to teach those who are coming after us, even such as will soon be preferred before us, John 1:30. Good words should be put into children's mouths betimes, by which they may be prepared to learn Divine things, and be trained up to regard them.
Commentary on 1 Samuel 3:11-18
(Read 1 Samuel 3:11-18)
What a great deal of guilt and corruption is there in us, concerning which we may say, It is the iniquity which our own heart knoweth; we are conscious to ourselves of it! Those who do not restrain the sins of others, when it is in their power to do it, make themselves partakers of the guilt, and will be charged as joining in it. In his remarkable answer to this awful sentence, Eli acknowledged that the Lord had a right to do as he saw good, being assured that he would do nothing wrong. The meekness, patience, and humility contained in those words, show that he was truly repentant; he accepted the punishment of his sin.