The verb translated raise up is a way of saying that God will cause the desired situation to come into existence. Here it may be rendered “appoint” (Revised English Bible) or “choose” (New American Bible). Or in other languages translators may prefer to use a causative verb like “cause to come” or “bring to power.” The faithful priest will be Zadok (2 Sam 8.17, and see the comments on verse 31 above), whose family will keep the high priesthood from the time of Solomon until the destruction of the temple. See also 1 Kgs 2.27, 35. The participle rendered faithful comes from a root meaning “to have stability,” “to be reliable.” The same Hebrew participle is rendered sure in the second half of this verse.

The heart was regarded as the center of one’s will and desire. The expression do according to what is in my heart and in my mind may therefore be rendered “act in accordance with My wishes and My purposes” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

I will build him a sure house, that is, God will make sure that this faithful priest will have a long line of descendants to serve as high priests. As noted above, the word sure comes from a root that expresses the idea of stability and permanence. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders this “I will build for him an enduring house.” La Bible du Semeur says “I will build him a dynasty that will be faithful to me.” The appearance of the verb build together with the noun house causes many readers to misunderstand the meaning of this statement and take the two terms in their more literal sense. So in many cases it is better to avoid translating the verb literally and to say something like “I will guarantee many descendants for a long time” or “I will establish a permanent family.”

Go in and out: see the comments on verse 30. A translation such as “will live forever in the presence of my anointed” (Nueva Biblia Española) does not sufficiently express the dynamic sense that these priests descended from Zadok will function as royal priests in the service of the king. La Bible du Semeur says “who will officiate in the presence of the king whom I have anointed.”

My anointed, that is, the king whom God chooses (see the comment on verse 10).

For ever: Revised English Bible captures the sense in this rendering: “I shall establish his family to serve in perpetual succession before my anointed king.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse ends with a quotation within a quotation that is within another quotation. The man of God began speaking in verse 27. Then in verse 30, this prophet begins quoting the words of God; and finally in verse 36, God quotes what Eli’s descendants will say. In many languages it will be better to turn this direct quotation into an indirect quotation, as Good News Translation has done.

Only descendants of Zadok (see verse 35) will serve as priests in the temple in Jerusalem (see Ezek 44.15-16). All other descendants of Levi will be assigned to do menial work in the temple (see Ezek 44.10-14). The priests who come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread are those priests not descended from Zadok. At the time of Josiah’s reform, more than three and a half centuries after the time of Eli, these non-Zadokite priests were commanded to come to Jerusalem when the shrines in the cities of Judah where they served were destroyed (see 2 Kgs 23.8-9). The more common way of expressing the idea of the verb implore is “beg” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). But because it is an extremely strong term implying a physical gesture like kneeling, translators have seen the necessity of adding something else for emphasis: Revised English Bible says “bow humbly and…,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “on his knees.” And New American Bible shows the extent of submissiveness by using the verb “grovel.” This is the same Hebrew verb translated “to worship” in 1.3.

A piece of silver or a loaf of bread: as indicated in the Good News Translation rendering, these specific items represent “money and food.” In many languages it will be advisable to use the more general terms. The conjunction or between the two items may also be misleading. The Hebrew text has the common conjunction that is probably better translated “and” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, among other versions).

I pray you: these three words translate a single Hebrew particle of entreaty. This particle, which is often left untranslated, frequently expresses a weak appeal or petition to look with favor on a request. It may also express a sense of urgency and is often translated “please” or “pray.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The first sentence of this verse picks up the story of Samuel and Eli from 2.11 and 18. But because of the intervening material about the sons of Eli, it may be necessary in some languages to insert some kind of marker showing that a new episode is beginning. Good News Translation does so by adding the words “In those days.” But in some languages the presence of a section heading will be sufficient.

Regarding the words was ministering to the LORD, see the comments on 2.11.

Under Eli: the Hebrew word translated under consists of a form that is literally “before the face of.” This construction, often rendered “before” in English, may refer to priority in space, time, or rank. New Jerusalem Bible says “in the presence of Eli.” Most, however, understand the sense here to be that of rank and say “under Eli” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “under the supervision of Eli” (Bible en français courant). The same sort of expression is used in 2.11.

There was no frequent vision: the precise meaning of the participle translated as frequent is not clear. It comes from a root meaning “to break out,” “to spread out.” Some translations focus on the notion that visions were “rare” (Good News Translation) or not frequent (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible). Others focus on the idea that visions were not “widespread” (New Revised Standard Version, Anchor Bible). Whatever the precise sense, the general meaning is clear: visions were “uncommon” (New Jerusalem Bible) at this time. In order to express the ideas of the two clauses here, some languages require a kind of reconstruction or restatement so that the word of the LORD was rare must be rendered “the LORD did not speak often [to people]” and there was no frequent vision will become something like “people did not often receive messages from God.”

It is not necessary to make a major distinction between a word of the LORD and a vision from God. The Hebrew term rendered vision is not the same as a dream, though the vision takes place at night. This term is used in contexts that suggest receiving of words and not visual images; that is, while a person is sleeping, he hears a voice speaking to him. The footnote in New Jerusalem Bible states “It [God’s revelation] is not a dream; the voice awakens Samuel. Nor is it a ‘vision’ except in the wide sense, since Samuel hears but does not see Yahweh.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “the word of the LORD was rare; prophecy was not widespread.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

At that time: literally “And it happened on that day.” The Hebrew word often translated “day” has a wide range of meanings, including “daylight hours,” “a time period of twenty-four hours,” and a general indication of an extended period of time. As the following verses indicate (see especially verse 15), these events occurred at night, as Good News Translation makes explicit (so also New International Version, Revised English Bible, and New Century Version). In some languages it may even be misleading and contradictory to use the word “day” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) at this point and then talk about “night” later on.

Whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see: Revised Standard Version translates literally, but Good News Translation compresses the two actions into one: “who was now almost blind.” But it will be better in some languages to make a separate sentence of this relative clause. New American Bible, for example, has “His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.”

His own place, that is “his room,” as in verse 9 also.

Some languages may find it more natural to imitate the restructuring of New Century Version, which uses two separate sentences and reorders some of the elements in this verse: “Eli’s eyes were so weak he was almost blind. One night he was lying in bed.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The lamp of God: the lamp referred to here is the sacred lamp that was set up in the tabernacle outside the curtain in front of the Covenant Box. It was to be lit each evening and allowed to burn until morning (according to Exo 27.20; Lev 24.2). Though Good News Translation does not keep the Hebrew expression the lamp of God, the use of the definite article, “the lamp,” suggests that a specific lamp is being referred to. In some languages a footnote may be required to inform the reader of the significance of this lamp.

Had not yet gone out: while the Hebrew uses a negative expression, the idea may be better expressed positively in some languages. New Century Version, like Good News Translation, says that “the lamp was still burning.”

The temple of the LORD: see the comments on 1.9.

The ark of God: this object is referred to in various ways in 1 and 2 Samuel, including “the ark,” “the ark of the covenant of the LORD,” “the ark of the covenant of God,” “the ark of the LORD,” and “the ark of the God of Israel.” The traditional English rendering ark is a transliteration of the Latin, which means “chest” or “box.” This is based on a Hebrew word that simply means “box”; yet this is no ordinary box. Although without its gold decorations it was a simple wooden chest, it was very special to the Jewish people because it was related to their covenant relationship to God.

Translators should respect the different names for the ark as much as possible, but in cases where there is a danger that readers or hearers will understand that different objects are intended, it may be necessary to use the same name even though the text has a different wording. Here, for example, New Century Version has “the Ark of the Agreement,” which is its usual rendering of “ark of the covenant,” as in 4.3.

The ark was a box made of acacia wood measuring about 125 centimeters (about 45 inches) by 75 centimeters (about 27 inches) and was approximately 75 centimeters (27 inches) high (Exo 25.10-22 and 37.1-9). The presence of Yahweh was thought to be closely tied to this box. Translators should be aware that it is only by historical accident that the word used of Noah’s ark and the ark of the covenant are the same in English. The two words in Hebrew are completely different. So no attempt should be made to render them identically in the receptor language.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

As the note in Revised Standard Version indicates, the Hebrew contains Samuel’s name only once in this verse and says that “the LORD called to Samuel” (New American Bible), rather than having a direct quotation. Since 3.10 indicates that God called Samuel’s name twice “as at other times,” Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint in reading his name twice also in verse 4. A manuscript from Qumran agrees with the Septuagint, which is followed by New Revised Standard Version. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not comment on this textual problem, which suggests that the committee supported the Masoretic Text here.

Here I am translates a Hebrew word that is made up of a particle often rendered “behold” plus a first person singular personal pronoun suffix; thus literally “Behold me.” The appropriate response to a summons by an unknown person in a given language may be quite different from a literal rendering of the Hebrew. Since Samuel thought it was Eli who was calling, the initial response should be one that is fitting for such a circumstance. A few English versions use various nonliteral translations that are closer to what a person would say in everyday life if they heard someone calling their name in the night. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, for example, has “I’m coming,” which seems most appropriate in view of the immediate context. Translators should look at their own language for the most natural equivalent in this situation.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In some languages it will be more natural to reverse the order of the elements when translating Here I am, for you called me. Some may say, for example, “You called me, so I came to you.” But others may prefer “I came here because you called me.”

The third person singular Hebrew verbs in this verse have no explicit subject. To avoid confusion Good News Translation identifies Eli as the one who said “I did not call” and Samuel as the one who went and lay down.

It should be made clear in translation that Eli is instructing Samuel to go back to his own bed and lie down again. Unless special care is taken, some readers might understand that Samuel was to lie down where he was. In English it is quite natural to say “go back to bed” as in Good News Translation and New Century Version.

As a result of Eli’s instructions, Samuel went back to his own bed to go to sleep again. The connecting word So is used to translate the common Hebrew conjunction in order to emphasize the logical relationship between the instructions and Samuel’s action.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .