"Samuel! Samuel!" He heard a cry.
"You called for me" he told Eli.
"I did not call" the old man said,
"Lie down again, go back to bed".
"Samuel! Samuel!" The call was plain.
"I did not call, lie down again".

"Samuel! Samuel!" "Three times, that's odd",
The priest replied, "It must be God".
"Lie down again and do not fear,
Say 'Speak O LORD, your voice I hear' ".
God told Samuel "I will tell you
The thing that I've chosen to do.

Eli's children will be no more.
He has two sons who break my law.
They are greedy, which is not good.
They do not act as my priests should.
This thing is bad and even worse,
They make my name to be a curse.

When people come to offer meat,
There is a part the priests may eat,
Once it is burnt upon the fire,
Then they may eat as they desire.
But Eli's sons choose to ignore
My laws, and take it while still raw.

Eli did not teach right from wrong,
As fathers must before too long.
He did not swap the tasks they had,
Or punish them or get real mad.
Now I will make you priest instead,
To serve me here when they are dead.

The morning came and Eli's call.
"Samuel, come here and tell me all,
The LORD our God told you last night.
Do not hide it from my sight.
Tell me everything that he said
Or he will punish you instead."

Samuel's afraid to tell Eli,
but knows that it is wrong to lie.
He tells Eli what he had heard
And didn't miss a single word.
Eli replied without protest.
"The LORD our God knows what is best.