1 Samuel 3:16 (LSB)

Passage

Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.”

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:14 Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

1 Samuel 3:15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh. But Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

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

1 Samuel 3:17 And he said, “What is the word that He spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. May God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the words that He spoke to you.”

1 Samuel 3:18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "samuel", "said", and "here". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "samuel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "So Samuel lay down until morning Then..." into verse 17's "And he said What is the word...", so "called" and "samuel" 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 "called" and "samuel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.