1 Samuel 28:3-25
New American Standard Bible
3 Now (A)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him (B)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the (C)mediums and spiritists from the land. 4 So the Philistines assembled and came and camped (D)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in (E)Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 (F)So Saul inquired of the Lord, but (G)the Lord did not answer him, either in (H)dreams, or by the (I)Urim, or by the prophets. 7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, (J)there is a woman who is a medium at (K)En-dor.”
8 Then Saul (L)disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “(M)Consult the spirit for me, please, and (N)bring up for me the one whom I shall [a]name for you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know (O)what Saul has done, that he has eliminated the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then setting a trap for my life, to bring about my death?” 10 So Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!” 13 But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a [b]divine being coming up from the earth.” 14 He said to her, “[c]How does he appear?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and (P)he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and (Q)he bowed with his face to the ground and paid [d]homage.
15 And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and (R)God has abandoned me and (S)no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.” 16 Samuel said, “But why ask me, since the Lord has abandoned you and has become your enemy? 17 And the Lord has done [e]just (T)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 Just as (U)you did not [f]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. 19 Furthermore, the Lord will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow (V)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the Lord will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”
20 Then Saul immediately fell full length to the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words; there was no strength in him either, because he had eaten no [g]food all day and all night. 21 The woman came to Saul and saw that he was utterly horrified, and she said to him, “Behold, your servant has [h]obeyed you, and (W)I have [i]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 So now you too, please listen to the voice of your servant, and let me serve you a piece of bread, and eat it, so that you will have strength when you go on your way.” 23 But he refused and said, “(X)I will not eat.” (Y)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to [j]them. So he got up from the ground and sat on (Z)the bed. 24 Now the woman had a (AA)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it; then she (AB)took flour, kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 She then served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and left that night.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 28:8 Lit say
- 1 Samuel 28:13 Or god
- 1 Samuel 28:14 Lit What is his form
- 1 Samuel 28:14 I.e., great respect and honor to a superior
- 1 Samuel 28:17 Lit for Himself just; another reading is to you just
- 1 Samuel 28:18 Lit listen to the voice of
- 1 Samuel 28:20 Lit bread
- 1 Samuel 28:21 Lit listened to your voice
- 1 Samuel 28:21 Lit put
- 1 Samuel 28:23 Lit their voice
1 Samuel 28:3-25
New Living Translation
3 Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned from the land of Israel all mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead.
4 The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul gathered all the army of Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. 6 He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots[a] or by the prophets. 7 Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.”
His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men.
“I have to talk to a man who has died,” he said. “Will you call up his spirit for me?”
9 “Are you trying to get me killed?” the woman demanded. “You know that Saul has outlawed all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead. Why are you setting a trap for me?”
10 But Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord and promised, “As surely as the Lord lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this.”
11 Finally, the woman said, “Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?”
“Call up Samuel,” Saul replied.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, “You’ve deceived me! You are Saul!”
13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What do you see?”
“I see a god[b] coming up out of the earth,” she said.
14 “What does he look like?” Saul asked.
“He is an old man wrapped in a robe,” she replied. Saul realized it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him.
15 “Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?” Samuel asked Saul.
“Because I am in deep trouble,” Saul replied. “The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.”
16 But Samuel replied, “Why ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. 18 The Lord has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. 19 What’s more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The Lord will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat.”
20 Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel’s words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
21 When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, “Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. 22 Now do what I say, and let me give you a little something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back.”
23 But Saul refused to eat anything. Then his advisers joined the woman in urging him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread. 25 She brought the meal to Saul and his advisers, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
