13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;

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13 Saul died(A) because he was unfaithful(B) to the Lord; he did not keep(C) the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium(D) for guidance,

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31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

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31 “‘Do not turn to mediums(A) or seek out spiritists,(B) for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

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23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

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23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,(A)
    and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected(B) the word of the Lord,
    he has rejected you as king.”

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And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

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“‘I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cut them off from their people.(A)

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19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

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The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(A) mediums and spiritists,(B) who whisper and mutter,(C) should not a people inquire(D) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

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Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

10 And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

11 Then said the woman, 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 spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

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 answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

17 And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:

18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

20 Then Saul fell straightway all along on 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 the day, nor all the night.

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Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,(A) so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,(B)” they said.

So Saul disguised(C) himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult(D) a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off(E) the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap(F) for my life to bring about my death?”

10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”

11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

“Bring up Samuel,” he said.

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me?(G) You are Saul!”

13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure[a] coming up out of the earth.”(H)

14 “What does he look like?” he asked.

“An old man wearing a robe(I) is coming up,” she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed(J) from me. He no longer answers(K) me, either by prophets or by dreams.(L) So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn(M) the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey(N) the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath(O) against the Amalekites,(P) the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons(Q) will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 28:13 Or see spirits; or see gods

13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.

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13 “You have done a foolish thing,(A)” Samuel said. “You have not kept(B) the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.(C) 14 But now your kingdom(D) will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart(E) and appointed(F) him ruler(G) of his people, because you have not kept(H) the Lord’s command.”

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10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.

14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

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10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,(A) who practices divination(B) or sorcery,(C) interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,(D) 11 or casts spells,(E) or who is a medium or spiritist(F) or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.(G) 13 You must be blameless(H) before the Lord your God.(I)

The Prophet

14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination.(J) But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so.

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16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

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Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer,(A) we were met by a female slave who had a spirit(B) by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God,(C) who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.(D)

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But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

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Simon the Sorcerer

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery(A) in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,(B) 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”(C) 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.

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And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

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He sacrificed his own son(A) in the fire, practiced divination,(B) sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists.(C) He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing(D) his anger.

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Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt.

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This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites(A) for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.

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18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

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