Yahwe banozwilakidza kuna Samuele
1 Mbisana Samuele wakabe eshingila Yahwe ali pasi kwa Eli. Mu misi iyeyo dama la Yahwe lakabe lisingahwiwe hwiwe koga, ne mibono yakabe isakawanda. 2 Mu tjibaka itjetjo Eli wakabe asingatjabonesese mesho awe abe ne lidandi, wakabe alilele mu ng'umba iye. 3 Luvone gwe Ndzimu gwakabe gusathu gukadzima, ngono Samuele wakabe alilele mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe, kwakabe kuna Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu. 4 Ipapo Yahwe bakadana Samuele, Samuele kadabila eti, “Ndipano.” 5 Kalabukila kuna Eli kaswika eti, “Ndipano, mandidana.”
Koga Eli kandwa kati, “Andizotongo dana, bgwililazo unoizela.” Ndizo kayenda kanoizela.
6 Yahwe bakadana kakale bakati, “Samuele!” Ngono Samuele kamuka kayenda kuna Eli kaswika kandwa kati, “Ndabuya mandidana.” Eli kandwa kati, “Andizotongodana nkololo wangu bgwililazo unoizela.”
7 Mu tjibaka itjetjo Samuele wakabe asathu kaziba Yahwe, ngobe dama la Yahwe wakabe asathu kalizumbunuligwa.
8 Yahwe bakadana Samuele kakale gwe butatu. Samuele kamuka kayenda kuna Eli, kaswika kandwa kati, “Ndabuya mandidana.” Ndizo Eli kabona kuti Yahwe bakabe bedana mbisana. 9 Ipapo Eli kandwa kati, “Bgwilila unoizela, ngono ha ungahwa bekudana kakale udabile uti, ‘Lebelekani zwenyu Yahwe, nlanda wenyu wakateedza.’ ” Ndizo Samuele kabgwilila kanoizela ku bulalo gugwe. 10 Yahwe bakazha bakama ipapo, bakadana kakale, sekwa batongodana, “Samuele! Samuele!”
Samuele kadabila eti, “Lebelekani zwenyu nlanda wenyu wakateedza.”
11 Ipapo Yahwe bakadwa Samuele bakati, “Bona, ndi pejo ngothama tjimwe tjithu mu Iziraela, tjinowothama kuti zebe dze mmwe ne mmwe unotjihwa unowolobgwa nge hana. 12 Mu zhuba ilelo ndowothamila Eli zose zwandakaleba ngekwe nsha uwe, kudwa mu kutangisa kunoti ku bupelo. 13 Ngono ndombudza kuti ndi pejo ngoloba nsha uwe nge kusingapele, ngekwe jinyo laanoziba, bakololo babe bakabe betuka Ndzimu, ngono kasitongo batjemela. 14 Ndizo ndotuna nditunila nsha wa Eli nditi jinyo le nsha wa Eli alingalipigwe nge tjibhayilo kene kudusa tjipo nge kusingapele.”
15 Samuele wakaizela kuswikila mangwanana, ndizo kazhula mikoba ye Ng'umba ya Yahwe. Samuele wakabe etja kubudza Eli mbono. 16 Koga Eli kadana Samuele kati, “Samuele nkololo wangu.”
Samuele kadabila eti, “Ndipano.” 17 Eli kambhuzwa kati, “Apa Yahwe balala bakudwani kene? Usindisumbikile itjo. Ndzimu ngaukulobe, ha ungandisumbikila tjimwe ne tjimwe tjawalala wakubudza.” 18 Ndizo Samuele kambudza tjimwe ne tjimwe, kukasibe ne tjaanonsumbikila. Iye kabe eti, “Ndibo Yahwe, ngabathame sekwa kungabe kwakabalulwamila.”
19 Samuele kakula, Yahwe banaye, ngono abazotongo thama kuti kube ne matama abo angawila pasi. 20 Ndizo Iziraela yose, kudwa ku Dani kunoti ku Bheerisheba ikaziba kuti Samuele nlebesambeli wa Yahwe. 21 Yahwe bakadwilila bezwilakidza ku Shilo, ngono Yahwe bakazwilakidza kuna Samuele nge dama labo.
The Lord Appears to Samuel
1 In those days, when the boy Samuel was serving the Lord under the direction of Eli, there were very few messages from the Lord, and visions from him were quite rare. 2 One night Eli, who was now almost blind, was sleeping in his own room; 3 Samuel was sleeping in the sanctuary, where the sacred Covenant Box was. Before dawn, while the lamp was still burning, 4 the Lord called Samuel. He answered, “Yes, sir!” 5 and ran to Eli and said, “You called me, and here I am.”
But Eli answered, “I didn't call you; go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed.
6-7 The Lord called Samuel again. The boy did not know that it was the Lord, because the Lord had never spoken to him before. So he got up, went to Eli, and said, “You called me, and here I am.”
But Eli answered, “My son, I didn't call you; go back to bed.”
8 The Lord called Samuel a third time; he got up, went to Eli, and said, “You called me, and here I am.”
Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, 9 so he said to him, “Go back to bed; and if he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed.
10 The Lord came and stood there, and called as he had before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Samuel answered, “Speak; your servant is listening.”
11 The Lord said to him, “Some day I am going to do something to the people of Israel that is so terrible that everyone who hears about it will be stunned. 12 On that day I will carry out all my threats against Eli's family, from beginning to end. 13 I have already told him that I am going to punish his family forever because his sons have spoken evil things against me. Eli knew they were doing this, but he did not stop them. 14 So I solemnly declare to the family of Eli that no sacrifice or offering will ever be able to remove the consequences of this terrible sin.”
15 Samuel stayed in bed until morning; then he got up and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 16 Eli called him, “Samuel, my boy!”
“Yes, sir,” answered Samuel.
17 “What did the Lord tell you?” Eli asked. “Don't keep anything from me. God will punish you severely if you don't tell me everything he said.” 18 So Samuel told him everything; he did not keep anything back. Eli said, “He is the Lord; he will do whatever seems best to him.”
19 As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and made come true everything that Samuel said. 20 So all the people of Israel, from one end of the country to the other, knew that Samuel was indeed a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to reveal himself at Shiloh, where he had appeared to Samuel and had spoken to him. And when Samuel spoke, all Israel listened.