At Mount Ephraim there dwelt a man, named Elkanah, with his good wife, Hannah.
These good people had one son, Samuel, whom they loved with great tenderness. He was their only child; but, though they loved him so, they carried him when he was yet a tiny boy to the temple and left him with the holy priests.
"Here is my child," the good mother said. "I give him now to our God, the God of Israel. So long as he lives shall he be the Lord's."
Then the priest, Eli, took the child and blessed it, and blessed the mother too; and Samuel grew up a true, honest boy, and came in time to be himself a holy priest.
One night, when Samuel lay upon his bed, he heard a voice calling, "Samuel, Samuel!"
"Here am I, Eli," Samuel answered; for he thought it was the voice of the priest.
But Eli said, "No, my son, I did not call thee."
And Samuel went and lay down upon his bed again.
Again the voice called, "Samuel, Samuel!"
And again Samuel ran to Eli's bedside, saying, "Here am I, Eli."
A third time, even, the voice called. A third time Samuel ran to Eli's bedside.
"Samuel," Eli said, when the lad came a third time, "it may be it is the voice of the Lord. Go back to thy bed; and if it speaks again, say, 'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.'"
Samuel obeyed; and a fourth time the voice called.
Then Samuel answered as Eli bade him. And the voice then said, "Lo, I am about to punish Eli and his sons; for the sons are wicked and Eli punishes them not."
Now, these sons were priests in the temple with their father, and Eli knew full well that they were wicked men. Still, because they were his own sons, and he loved them, he had not driven them forth from the temple.
Poor old Eli was sad when Samuel told him what the voice had said to him; but he bowed his head and said, "It is the voice of God that hath spoken. Let him do with me what seemeth to him wise and good."
Then came a great battle between the Philistines and the Israelites; and in this battle the Israelites were beaten, and the two sons of Eli slain.
Eli was too old to go himself into the battle, and so he sat at the gate of the city and waited with the people for news of the battle.
At last a man came running. His clothes were rent, and there was dust upon his head, and from this the people knew that he brought sad news only.