“And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Samuel 3:17 Mean?
"What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me." Eli asks young Samuel to reveal the prophecy God spoke during the night — a prophecy of judgment against Eli's own house. The old priest demands full disclosure and invokes a divine curse on Samuel if he withholds anything. Eli wants the whole truth, even though the whole truth is his family's destruction.
The phrase "hide it not from me" is reinforced by the imprecation: "God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing." Eli backs his request with the strongest possible pressure. He knows the message will be bad — God has already spoken through the man of God in chapter 2. But he wants to hear it again, directly, from the boy sleeping in the sanctuary.
Eli's courage in demanding the bad news is one of his finest moments: the priest who failed to discipline his sons has the integrity to demand the full prophecy of their destruction. He doesn't protect himself with ignorance. He asks for the truth that will break him.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Can you handle demanding the full truth about your situation from God?
- 2.What does Eli's demand for complete disclosure — even when it's judgment — teach about integrity?
- 3.How is 'it is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good' both surrender and faith?
- 4.What truth are you avoiding that you need to demand — and then accept?
Devotional
Tell me everything. Don't hide anything. God punish you if you hold back. The old priest looks at the boy prophet and demands the full truth — knowing the truth is the end of his family.
Eli's demand for complete disclosure is his most admirable act in the entire narrative: a man asking for the details of his own family's destruction. Not avoiding the bad news. Not settling for a softened version. Tell me everything God said. All of it. The good priest who was a bad father wants the full sentence read aloud.
The imprecation — may God punish you if you hold back — means Eli is more afraid of a partial truth than a painful one. He'd rather hear the complete judgment than live with the uncertainty of a withheld prophecy. The known devastation is preferable to the imagined one. Tell me the worst. The worst I can handle. The unknown I can't.
Samuel tells him everything (verse 18). And Eli's response is one of the most surrendered statements in Scripture: 'It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.' The man who demanded the full truth receives it and submits to it. No argument. No appeal. No Moses-style intercession. Just: it's the LORD. He'll do what He thinks is right.
The combination of demanding truth and surrendering to it is rare: most people avoid one or both. They avoid the truth to prevent the pain. Or they hear the truth and fight it. Eli does both: demands the truth with force and surrenders to it with peace.
Can you demand the full truth AND surrender to it?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he said, what is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee?.... The word "Lord" is not in the text, but it is…
God do so to thee, and more also - This was a very solemn adjuration: he suspected that God had threatened severe…
Here is, I. The message which, after all this introduction, God delivered to Samuel concerning Eli's house. God did not…
What is the thing that the Lord hath said unto thee? The word Lord is not in the Hebrew. As in 1Sa 3:3 it is tacitly…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture