1 Samuel 3:9 (YLT)

Passage

And Eli saith to Samuel, `Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place.

Nearby Context

1 Samuel 3:7 And Samuel hath not yet known Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah is not yet revealed unto him.

1 Samuel 3:8 And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the third time, and he riseth and goeth unto Eli, and saith, `Here <FI>am<Fi> I, for thou hast called for me;' and Eli understandeth that Jehovah is calling to the youth.

1 Samuel 3:9 And Eli saith to Samuel, `Go, lie down, and it hath been, if He doth call unto thee, that thou hast said, Speak, Jehovah, for Thy servant is hearing;' and Samuel goeth and lieth down in his place.

1 Samuel 3:10 And Jehovah cometh, and stationeth Himself, and calleth as time by time, `Samuel, Samuel;' and Samuel saith, `Speak, for Thy servant is hearing.'

1 Samuel 3:11 And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, `Lo, I am doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of every one hearing it do tingle.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "saith", "samuel", "down", "hath", "been", "doth", "call", and "thee". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "saith" and "samuel", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "And Jehovah addeth to call Samuel the..." into verse 10's "And Jehovah cometh and stationeth Himself and...", so "saith" 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 "saith" and "samuel" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.