And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
I will do a thing in Israel. The reference is to the national disasters detailed in the following chapter, and the awful nature of which would strike with astonishment and horror all who should hear of them.
The ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. This phrase was a familiar and favourite mode of speaking among the Hebrews (cf. 2 Kings 21:12; Jeremiah 19:3).