1 Samuel 3:18 (ASV)

Passage

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what seemeth him good.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I.

1 Samuel 3:17 And he said, What is the thing that [Jehovah] hath spoken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide anything from me of all the things that he spake unto thee.

1 Samuel 3:18 And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is Jehovah: let him do what seemeth him good.

1 Samuel 3:19 And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.

1 Samuel 3:20 And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "told", "whit", "nothing", "said", "jehovah", "seemeth", and "good". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "samuel" and "told", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And he said What is the thing..." into verse 19's "And Samuel grew and Jehovah was with...", so "samuel" and "told" belong inside that flow. In 1 Samuel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "samuel" and "told" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.