1 Samuel 28
Jubilee Bible 2000
28 ¶ And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight against Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know for certain, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.
2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy slave can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore, I will make thee keeper of my head all the days.
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah in his own city. And Saul had removed the spiritists and the diviners out of the land.
4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together and came and pitched camp in Shunem, and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched camp in Gilboa.
5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
6 And Saul enquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams nor by Urim nor by prophets.
7 ¶ Then Saul said unto his slaves, Seek me a woman that is a spiritist that I may go to her and enquire of her. And his slaves said to him, Behold, there is a woman that is a spiritist at Endor.
8 And Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing, and he went with two men, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by spiritism and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee.
9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off the spiritists and the diviners out of the land; why then dost thou lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
10 And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD lives, no iniquity shall come upon thee for this thing.
11 Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.
13 And the king said unto her, Do not be afraid. What didst thou see? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods rising out of the land.
14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man comes, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and worshipped.
15 ¶ And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me and no longer answers me neither by prophets nor by dreams; therefore, I have called thee that thou may make known unto me what I shall do.
16 Then Samuel said, Why then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thy enemy?
17 The LORD, therefore, has done as he spoke by me! For the LORD has rent the kingdom out of thy hand and given it to thy neighbour, even to David.
18 Because thou didst not hearken unto the voice of the LORD nor execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek; therefore, the LORD has done this thing unto thee today.
19 And the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me; the LORD shall also deliver the camp of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
20 ¶ Then Saul, as great as he was, fell suddenly to the earth and was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day nor all that night.
21 And the woman came unto Saul and saw that he was sore troubled and said unto him, Behold, thy handmaid has heard thy voice, and I have put my soul in my hand and have hearkened unto thy words which thou didst speak unto me.
22 Now, therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thy handmaid and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou may have strength, and go on thy way.
23 But he refused and said, I will not eat. But his slaves, together with the woman, compelled him, and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the ground and sat upon a bed.
24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house, and she hastened and killed it and took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread with it.
25 And she brought it before Saul and before his slaves, and after they ate, they rose up and went away that night.
1 Samuel 28
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Saul and the Medium
28 At that time, the Philistines(A) brought their military units together into one army to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You know, of course, that you and your men must march out in the army[a] with me.”
2 David replied to Achish, “Good, you will find out what your servant can do.”
So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”(B)
3 By this time Samuel had died,(C) and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city,(D) and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.(E) 4 The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel, and they camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid and trembled violently. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.(F) 7 Saul then said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.”
His servants replied, “There is a woman at En-dor(G) who is a medium.”(H)
8 Saul disguised himself(I) by putting on different clothes and set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me.(J) Bring up for me the one I tell you.”(K)
9 But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done,(L) how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why are you setting a trap for me to get me killed?”
10 Then Saul swore to her by the Lord: “As surely as the Lord lives, nothing bad will happen to you because of this.”
11 “Who is it that you want me to bring up for you?” the woman asked.
“Bring up Samuel for me,” he answered.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, and then she asked Saul, “Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!”
13 But the king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
“I see a spirit form[b] coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered.
14 Then Saul asked her, “What does he look like?”
“An old man is coming up,” she replied. “He’s wearing a robe.”(M) Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed his face to the ground and paid homage.(N)
15 “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Samuel asked Saul.
“I’m in serious trouble,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me.(O) He doesn’t answer me anymore,(P) either through the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel answered, “Since the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me? 17 The Lord has done[c] exactly what He said through me: The Lord has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David.(Q) 18 You did not obey the Lord and did not carry out His burning anger against Amalek;(R) therefore the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will also hand Israel over to the Philistines along with you. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me,[d](S) and the Lord will hand Israel’s army over to the Philistines.”
20 Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was terrified by Samuel’s words and was also weak because he hadn’t had any food all day and all night. 21 The woman came over to Saul, and she saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands(T) and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen to your servant. Let me set some food in front of you. Eat and it will give you strength so you can go on your way.”
23 He refused, saying, “I won’t eat,” but when his servants and the woman urged him, he listened to them.(U) He got up off the ground and sat on the bed.(V)
24 The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it.(W) She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread. 25 She served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Afterward, they got up and left that night.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 28:1 DSS, LXX read battle
- 1 Samuel 28:13 Or a god, or a divine being
- 1 Samuel 28:17 Some Hb, some LXX mss, Vg read done to you
- 1 Samuel 28:19 LXX reads sons will fall
Copyright © 2013, 2020 by Ransom Press International
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.