1 Samuel 28
Legacy Standard Bible
Saul and the Woman of En-dor
28 Now it happened in those days that (A)the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” 2 And David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you [a]my bodyguard (B)for life.”
3 Now (C)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him (D)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who (E)were mediums and spiritists. 4 So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped (F)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in (G)Gilboa. 5 Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 (H)So Saul asked of Yahweh, but (I)Yahweh did not answer him, either by (J)dreams or by (K)Urim or by prophets. 7 So Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, (L)there is a woman who is a medium at (M)En-dor.”
8 Then Saul (N)disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “(O)Divine for me, please, and (P)bring up for me whom I shall say to you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know (Q)what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” 10 Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, saying, “As Yahweh 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 And the woman saw Samuel and cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” 13 And 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 out of the earth.” 14 And he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and (R)he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and (S)he bowed with his [c]face to the ground and prostrated himself.
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and (T)God has turned away from me and (U)no longer answers me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” 16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your adversary? 17 So Yahweh has done [d]accordingly (V)as He spoke by my hand, for Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. 18 As (W)you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh and did not execute His burning anger on Amalek, so Yahweh has done this thing to you this day. 19 Moreover Yahweh will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow (X)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed Yahweh will give over the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”
20 Then Saul quickly fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no [e]food all day and all night. 21 And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified and said to him, “Behold, your servant-woman has listened to your voice, and (Y)I have [f]taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. 22 So now also, please listen to the voice of your servant-woman, and let me set a piece of bread before you that you may eat and have strength when you go on your way.” 23 But he refused and said, “(Z)I will not eat.” (AA)However, his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to [g]them. So he arose from the ground and sat on (AB)the bed. 24 And the woman had a (AC)fattened calf in the house, and she quickly sacrificed it; and she (AD)took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. 25 And she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and went away that night.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 28:2 Lit keeper of my head
- 1 Samuel 28:13 Or god
- 1 Samuel 28:14 Lit nose
- 1 Samuel 28:17 Lit for himself
- 1 Samuel 28:20 Lit bread
- 1 Samuel 28:21 Lit put
- 1 Samuel 28:23 Lit their voices
1 Samuel 28
International Standard Version
The Philistines Prepare to Fight against Israel
28 At that time the Philistines assembled their army for war to fight against Israel. Achish told David, “You know, of course, that you and your men will go out with me into the battle.”
2 David told Achish, “Very well, you will now see[a] what your servant will do.”
Achish told David, “Very well, I’ll appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”
Saul and the Medium at Endor
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
4 The Philistines assembled, moved out, and camped at Shunem, while Saul assembled all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, either through dreams or Urim[b] or through prophets. 7 Saul told his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium so I can go to her and make my inquiry through her.”
His servants told him, “Look, there’s a woman at Endor who is a medium.”
8 Saul disguised himself, putting on different clothes. He went along with two men to the woman at night. He said, “Consult a familiar spirit for me and bring up for me the one whom I tell you.”
9 The woman told him, “Look, you know what Saul has done. He has removed mediums and spiritists from the land, so why are you trying to entrap me, so as to cause my death?”
10 Saul swore to her by the Lord: “As surely as the Lord lives, no punishment will come on you for this thing.”
11 The woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
Saul[c] said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly.[d] The woman told Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
13 The king told her, “Don’t be afraid; but what do you see?”
The woman told Saul, “I see a divine being[e] coming up out of the ground.”
14 Saul[f] told her, “What does he look like?”
She said, “An old man is coming up, and he’s wrapped in a robe.” Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed low to the ground and prostrated himself.
Samuel’s Message to Saul
15 Samuel told Saul, “Why did you disturb me by bringing me up?”
Saul said, “I’m in great distress. The Philistines are waging war against me. God has departed from me and won’t answer me anymore, either by messages written by[g] the hand of the prophets or by dreams. So I’ve summoned you to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done to you exactly as he spoke through me.[h] The Lord has torn the kingdom away from you[i] and has given it to your colleague David. 18 Because you didn’t obey the Lord and didn’t display his fierce anger against Amalek, therefore, the Lord will do this thing to you today. 19 The Lord is giving both you, and Israel with you, into Philistine control. Tomorrow, the Lord will give you, your sons with you, and also the army of Israel into the control[j] of the Philistines.”
The Medium Attends to Saul
20 Saul immediately fell down full-length on the ground. He was terrified because of Samuel’s words, and he had no strength because he had not eaten food all day and all night. 21 Then the woman came to Saul and saw that he was very disturbed. She told him, “Look, your servant[k] obeyed you. I put my life into your hands, and I listened to your words that you spoke to me. 22 Now, please listen to your servant.[l] I’ll put a piece of bread before you so you can eat and have strength to go on your way.”[m]
23 Saul[n] refused, saying, “I won’t eat!”
Both his servants and the woman urged him, and so he listened to them. He got up off the ground and sat on the bed. 24 The woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread. 25 She brought it to Saul and to his servants, and they ate. Then they got up and went out that night.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 28:2 Lit. you will know
- 1 Samuel 28:6 I.e. a device used by the priest to determine God’s will
- 1 Samuel 28:11 Lit. He
- 1 Samuel 28:12 Lit. with a loud voice
- 1 Samuel 28:13 Or a spirit; or a god
- 1 Samuel 28:14 Lit. He
- 1 Samuel 28:15 The Heb. lacks messages written by
- 1 Samuel 28:17 Lit. by my hand
- 1 Samuel 28:17 Lit. from your hand
- 1 Samuel 28:19 Lit. hand
- 1 Samuel 28:21 Lit. maidservant
- 1 Samuel 28:22 Lit. maidservant
- 1 Samuel 28:22 Lit. the way
- 1 Samuel 28:23 Lit. He
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