1 Samuel 3:12
in 1 Samuel 3On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken about his family, from beginning to end.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even unto the end.
KJV
In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 3
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI will perform - all things which I have spoken - That is, what He had declared by the prophet, whose message is related 1Sa 2:27, etc. When I begin, I will also make an end - I will not delay the execution of my purpose: when I begin, nothing shall deter me from bringing all my judgments to a conclusion.
This site's exposition
the ears of all who hear it will tingle
on 1 Samuel 3:11-14
The LORD announces judgment with a formula found three times in Scripture, here and at 2 Kings 21:12 and Jeremiah 19:3: “the ears of all who hear it will tingle”. The sentence follows, “The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering”. The charge is that “his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them”, a fault of doing nothing once he knew.
This site's exposition
On that day I will carry out against Eli
The LORD tells Samuel that everything He spoke against Eli's house by the man of God in 2:27 to 36 will now be done, as Adam Clarke notes. John Wesley reckons the day some twenty or thirty years away, and Matthew Henry warns that when God begins, He finishes. Every word will stand.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
In that day - In that time which I have appointed for this work, which was about twenty or thirty years after this threatning. So long space of repentance God allows to this wicked generation.
I have told him that I will judge his house for ever, that is, that a curse should be entailed upon his family from generation to generation. The particulars of this curse we had before; they are not here repeated, but it is added, (1.) That when that sentence began to be executed it would be very dreadful and amazing to all Israel (
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In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house,....
It is intimated that it might possibly be some time before he would begin, but let them not call that forbearance an acquittance, nor that reprieve a pardon; for when at length he does begin he will make thorough work of it, and, though he stay long, he will strike home.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me--It is evident that his sleeping chamber was close to that of the aged high priest and that he was accustomed to be called during the night.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When I begin ... - literally, as in the margin: meaning, I will go through with the performance from first to last.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
To do something. This refers to the capture of the Ark by the Philistines. 11 Also, this may be referring to the destruction of the Mishkon in Shiloh which happened after the Ark was captured.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
That his sons were blaspheming themselves. It should properly state, 'blaspheming Me' but Scripture euphemized. 12 See Mechilta Beshalach:7 for a listing of other places where Scripture euphemized out of reverence to ‘ ה. Ralbag, however, interprets this verse that “they [Bnei Yisroel] cursed them [the sons of Eili].”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בַּיּ֤וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַהוּא֙ | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אָקִ֣ים | ʾakim | I will carry out | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֵלִ֔י | ʾeli | Eli | H5941 → | 33 times |
| אֵ֛ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבַּ֖רְתִּי | dibarti | I have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית֑וֹ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הָחֵ֖ל | hachel | beginning | H2490 → | 143 times |
| וְכַלֵּֽה׃ | vekhaleh | and ending | H3615 → | 208 times |
בַּיּ֤וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַהוּא֙<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
אָקִ֣יםI will carry out
ʾakimH6965 →628 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עֵלִ֔יEli
ʾeliH5941 →33 times
אֵ֛ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבַּ֖רְתִּיI have spoken
dibartiH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית֑וֹhouse his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
הָחֵ֖לbeginning
hachelH2490 →143 times
וְכַלֵּֽה׃and ending
vekhalehH3615 →208 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- Hebrews 6:18
Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
- Titus 1:2
in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
- 1 Samuel 15:29
Through
Luke 21:33Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
it leads to
- Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
- Mark 13:31
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
- Matthew 24:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.