1-2 Samuel served the Lord by helping Eli the priest, who was by that time almost blind. In those days, the Lord hardly ever spoke directly to people, and he did not appear to them in dreams very often. But one night, Eli was asleep in his room,
3 and Samuel was sleeping on a mat near the sacred chest in the Lord's house. They had not been asleep very long
4 when the Lord called out Samuel's name.“Here I am!” Samuel answered.
5 Then he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. What do you want?”“I didn't call you,” Eli answered. “Go back to bed.”Samuel went back.