1 Samuel 3:18 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

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

1 Samuel 3:17 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.

1 Samuel 3:18 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.

1 Samuel 3:19 And Samuel grew, and Jehovah was with him, and 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 a prophet of Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "samuel", "told", "words", "kept", "nothing", "back", "said", and "jehovah". 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 word..." 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.