1 Samuel 3:11 (WEB)

Passage

Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

1 Samuel 3:10 Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”

1 Samuel 3:11 Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

1 Samuel 3:12 In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.

1 Samuel 3:13 For I have told him that I will judge his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "yahweh", "said", "samuel", "behold", "israel", "both", "ears", and "everyone". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "yahweh" and "said", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 10's "Yahweh came and stood and called as..." into verse 12's "In that day I will perform against...", so "yahweh" and "said" 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 "yahweh" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.