1 Samuel 3:9 (WEB)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:7 Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him.

1 Samuel 3:8 Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child.

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.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "Yahweh called Samuel again the third time..." into verse 10's "Yahweh came and stood and called as...", so "therefore" 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 "therefore" and "said" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.