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1 Samuel 3:16

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) 1 Samuel 3:16 appears in the Hebrew Old Testament. The text above is from the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Each word links to its Strong’s number, a concise gloss, and parsing drawn from the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible morphology. Click any word for its full Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) entry.
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Cite this verse

1 Samuel 3:16 (World English Bible). Public Domain. Lemma interlinear Bible study tool, https://lemma.gebible.app/v/1-samuel/3/16.

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English Translation
Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. He said, Here am I.
World English Bible · Public Domain
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Compare translations 3

The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.

Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.

Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. He said, Here am I.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Behold me.”

unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).

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Show all 18 translations

Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.

  • World English Bible Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. He said, Here am I.
  • Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
    but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel.
  • Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
    but Eli called to him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “Here I am,” answered Samuel.
  • King James Version Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
  • American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I.
  • Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here Am I.
  • Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel my sonne. And he answered, Here I am.
  • Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
    Then Heli called Samuel, and said: Samuel, my son. And he answered: Here am I.
  • Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
    And Eli calleth Samuel, and saith, `Samuel, my son;' and he saith, `Here `am' I.'
  • Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    And Eli calls Samuel and says, “Samuel, my son”; and he says, “Here I [am].”
  • Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
    Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” Samuel said, “Here I am.”
  • unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
    But Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Behold me.”
  • Darby Bible Public Domain
    And Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here am I.
  • World Messianic Bible Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”
  • Webster's Bible Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here am I.
  • Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
    But Eli called him and said, “Samuel, my son.” “I'm here,” Samuel answered.
  • Bible in Basic English Public Domain
    Then Eli said, Samuel, my son. And Samuel answering said, Here am I.
  • JPS Tanakh (1917) Public Domain
    Then Eli called Samuel, and said: 'Samuel, my son.' And he said: 'Here am I.'

Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).

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About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

9
words
7
distinct lemmas
Historical
section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

עֵלִי֙ Eli H5941 occurs in 30 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

  • 3 verbs
  • 4 nouns
  • 2 particles

Verb forms

  • וַיִּקְרָ֤א Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • וַיֹּ֖אמֶר Qal · Sequential Imperfect
  • וַיֹּ֖אמֶר Qal · Sequential Imperfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

  • שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל Samuel H8050 ×2
  • וַיֹּ֖אמֶר to say H559 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 14 words from the Hebrew and 15 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 9 Hebrew tokens and 11 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

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Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew 1 Samuel 3:16 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וַיִּקְרָ֤א עֵלִי֙ אֶת שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֖אמֶר שְׁמוּאֵ֣ל בְּנִ֑י וַיֹּ֖אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. He said, Here am I.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 1 Samuel 3:16 Septuagint · lemma form

καί εἶπον ηλι πρός σαμουηλ σαμουηλ τέκνον καί εἶπον ἰδού ἐγώ

And Heli said to Samuel, Samuel, my son; and he said, Behold, here am I.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

1

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

  1. Targum Jonathan Prophets (Joshua–Malachi)
    וּקְרָא עֵלִי יַת שְׁמוּאֵל וַאֲמַר שְׁמוּאֵל בְּרִי וַאֲמַר הָא אֲנָא:

    (no public-domain English translation for this verse)

    Targum Jonathan — Aramaic: “Mikraot Gedolot” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on 1 Samuel 3:16 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

1Sa 3:16 Then Eli called Samuel, and said, Samuel, my son. And he answered, Here [am] I.

Ver. 16. Then Eli called Samuel.] He had a sore conscience, as his sons a seared, and such as presaged no good.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Gill's Exposition

Then Eli called Samuel,.... Perceiving he was risen by the opening of the doors of the tabernacle, which he might hear; and observing he did not come to him as usual, to know whether he wanted anything, and being impatient to hear what was said to him of the Lord:

and he said, Samuel, my son; called him by his name, and in a very tender and affectionate manner, the more to engage him to hasten to him, and thereby also putting him in mind of his filial duty to obey him:

and he answered, here am I; ready to attend and perform any service enjoined him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Pulpit Commentary

Vers. 16, 17, 18. God do so to thee, etc. This adjuration shows how great had been the agony of Eli"s suspense, yet, true to his sluggish nature, he had waited patiently till the morning came. Then he summons Samuel to him, calling him lovingly my son, and everything tends to show that there was a real affection between the two. He next asks, What is the thing that he hath said unto thee? The A.V greatly weakens this by inserting the words "The Lord." The original is far more suggestive. Put quite indefinitely, it says, "Whoever or whatsoever be thy visitor, yet tell me all." Then, when Eli has heard the message, he says, It is Jehovah. Though he had not had the courage to do what was right, yet his submission to God, and the humility of his resignation, prove that the Holy Ghost had in these years of waiting being doing its work upon the old man"s heart. Eli"s adjuration, we must further note, was equivalent to putting Samuel upon his oath, so that any concealment on his part would have involved the sin of perjury.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Keil & Delitzsch

C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch

When Samuel was called by Eli and asked concerning the divine revelation that he had received, he told him all the words, without concealing anything; whereupon Eli bowed in quiet resignation to the purpose of God: "It is the Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good." Samuel's communication, however, simply confirmed to the aged Eli what God had already made known to him through a prophet, But his reply proves that, with all his weakness and criminal indulgence towards his wicked sons, Eli was thoroughly devoted to the Lord in his heart. And Samuel, on the other hand, through his unreserved and candid communication of the terribly solemn word of God with regard to the man, whom he certainly venerated with filial affection, not only as high priest, but also as his own parental guardian, proved himself to be a man possessing the courage and the power to proclaim the word of the Lord without fear to the people of Israel.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

1 Samuel, in the Historical, opens this verse with 9 words (7 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʻÊlîy (“Eli”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

  1. What does “Eli” (ʻÊlîy) contribute to the verse as a whole?
  2. 1 Samuel 1:3 shares the word «Eli» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
  3. “Samuel” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
  4. These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
  5. The verb «וַיִּקְרָ֤א» is Qal Sequential Imperfect. How does its form color the action?
  6. Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and John Gill's Exposition read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

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Reading text

Shown beneath each verse's original-language words.

Old Testament
Old Testament edition

Read the OT as the Masoretic Hebrew (MT) or the Greek Septuagint (LXX).

English shown for the Greek Septuagint (in the Hebrew ↔ Greek comparison).

Comparing translations? Open the Compare panel on any verse page to stack up to four side by side.