And Eli said, “What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you.”
God did not come to flatter Samuel with tales of his own greatness, but to send him on an errand to another, far better use for a young man. This hard message about Eli's house would teach Samuel much later when his own sons turned wayward, not as bad as Eli's but not what they should have been.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Samuel 3:11-18
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 "that it hath said"; the voice that had so often called him in the night, and which yet Eli knew was the voice of the Lord; and as it was, he was sensible there was something of importance said, and...
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. (k) God punish you after this and that sort, unless you tell me the truth, .