1Sa 3, 1Sa 24 | ESV | STEP | Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli . And the word of the Lord was rare in those days ; there was no frequent vision .

1 ^aNow the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. ^bAnd the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

2 At that time Eli, ^cwhose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 ^dThe lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down ^ein the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

4 Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down.

6 And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

10 And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 11 Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel ^fat which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli ^gall that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 ^hAnd I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, ⁱbecause his sons were blaspheming God, ^{▼▼Or blaspheming for themselves} ^kand he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli ^lthat the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

15 Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. 16 But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. ^mMay God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, ⁿ“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”

19 ^oAnd Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him ^pand let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel ^qfrom Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord. 21 And the Lord appeared again at Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel ^rat Shiloh ^sby the word of the Lord.

1 Samuel 24

David Spares Saul’s Life

1 ^{▼▼Ch 24:2 in Hebrew} ^uWhen Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took ^vthree thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in ^wto relieve himself. ^{▼▼Hebrew cover his feet} Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts ^yof the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, ^z“Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward ^aaDavid’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, ^ab“The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is ^acthe Lord’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words ^adand did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.

8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. ^aeAnd some told me to kill you, but I spared you. ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew it [my eye] spared you} I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, ^agfor he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that ^ahthere is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though ^aiyou hunt my life to take it. 12 ^ajMay the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? ^akAfter a dead dog! ^alAfter a flea! 15 ^amMay the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and ^anplead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”

16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ^ao“Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, ^apfor you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, ^aqI know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 ^arSwear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and ^asthat you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up ^atto the stronghold.