The Lord Calls Samuel
1 fNow the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. gAnd the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.
2 At that time Eli, hwhose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. 3 iThe lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down jin 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 kat which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli lall that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. 13 lAnd I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, mbecause his sons were blaspheming God,1 nand he did not restrain them. 14 Therefore I swear to the house of Eli othat 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. pMay 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, q“It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him.”
19 rAnd Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him sand let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel tfrom 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 uat Shiloh vby the word of the Lord.
Prologue
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God agave him bto show to his servants1 the things that must soon take place. cHe made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 dwho bore witness to the word of God and to ethe testimony of Jesus Christ, even fto all that he saw. 3 gBlessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, hfor the time is near.
Greeting to the Seven Churches
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from ihim jwho is and kwho was and who is to come, and from lthe seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ mthe faithful witness, nthe firstborn of the dead, and othe ruler of kings on earth.
To phim who loves us and qhas freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us ra kingdom, rpriests to shis God and Father, to him be tglory and udominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, vhe is coming with the clouds, and wevery eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail2 on account of him. Even so. Amen.
8 x“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, y“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Vision of the Son of Man
9 I, John, your brother and zpartner in athe tribulation and bthe kingdom and cthe patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos don account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 eI was in the Spirit fon the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice glike a trumpet 11 saying, h“Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw iseven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands jone like ka son of man, lclothed with a long robe and mwith a golden sash around his chest. 14 nThe hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. oHis eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 phis feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and qhis voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 rIn his right hand he held seven stars, sfrom his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and this face was like the sun shining uin full strength.
17 vWhen I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But vhe laid his right hand on me, wsaying, “Fear not, xI am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. yI died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and zI have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 aWrite therefore bthe things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and cthe seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and dthe seven lampstands are the seven churches.
