Chapter
Verse
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1 Samuel 3:16

ESV But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.”
NIV but Eli called him and said, 'Samuel, my son.' Samuel answered, 'Here I am.'
NASB Then Eli called Samuel and said, 'Samuel, my son.' And he said, 'Here I am.'
CSB but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son.""Here I am," answered Samuel.
NLT But Eli called out to him, 'Samuel, my son.' 'Here I am,' Samuel replied.
KJV Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.

What does 1 Samuel 3:16 mean?

Commentators point out that Eli appears to have been waiting for Samuel to get up so that he could ask the boy about the visit from the Lord. The old priest is the one who realized that the Lord was calling Samuel after the boy ran to him three times claiming that Eli had called him (1 Samuel 3:4–9). He had to be curious what the Lord would say to this boy.

So as soon as Eli hears Samuel open the doors to the Lord's house (1 Samuel 3:15), he calls out "Samuel, my son." Samuel responds by saying "here I am," just as he had done the night before when Eli was not calling him. Referring to Samuel as his son is a hint to how the old priest felt about the boy. That relationship likely made it even more difficult for Samuel to deliver the Lord's message to his mentor (1 Samuel 3:15).
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