1 Samuel 28:3-25
New English Translation
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown.[a] In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums[b] and magicians[c] from the land. 4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified.[d] 6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him—not by dreams nor by Urim[e] nor by the prophets. 7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,[f] so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.”[g]
9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed[h] the mediums and magicians[i] from the land! Why are you trapping me[j] so you can put me to death?” 10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!” 11 The woman replied, “Who is it that I should bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up for me Samuel.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly.[k] The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! But what have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen a divine being[l] coming up from the ground!” 14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”
Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. 15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me anymore—not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied![m] The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! 18 Since you did not obey the Lord[n] and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines![o] Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me.[p] The Lord will also hand the army[q] of Israel over to the Philistines!”
20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy,[r] having not eaten anything[s] all that day and night. 21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked.[t] I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me.[u] 22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.”
23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged[v] him to eat, so he gave in.[w] He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 24 Now the woman[x] had a well-fed calf[y] at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded it and baked bread without leaven. 25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Samuel 28:3 tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”
- 1 Samuel 28:3 tn The Hebrew term translated “mediums” actually refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits (see 2 Kgs 21:6). In v. 7 the witch of Endor is called the owner of a ritual pit. See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ʾÔḆ,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401. Here the term refers by metonymy to the owner of such a pit (see H. A. Hoffner, TDOT 1:133).
- 1 Samuel 28:3 sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
- 1 Samuel 28:5 tn Heb “he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified.”
- 1 Samuel 28:6 sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.
- 1 Samuel 28:7 tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.
- 1 Samuel 28:8 tn Heb “Use divination for me with the ritual pit and bring up for me the one whom I say to you.”
- 1 Samuel 28:9 tn Heb “how he has cut off.”
- 1 Samuel 28:9 tn See the note at v. 3.
- 1 Samuel 28:9 tn Heb “my life.”
- 1 Samuel 28:12 tn Heb “in a great voice.”
- 1 Samuel 28:13 tn Heb “gods.” The modifying participle (translated “coming up”) is plural, suggesting that underworld spirits are the referent. But in the following verse Saul understands the plural word to refer to a singular being. The reference is to the spirit of Samuel.
- 1 Samuel 28:17 tn Heb “just as he said by my hand.”
- 1 Samuel 28:18 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord.”
- 1 Samuel 28:19 tn Heb “And the Lord will give also Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines.”
- 1 Samuel 28:19 tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the LXX has here “and tomorrow you and your sons with you will fall.”
- 1 Samuel 28:19 tn Heb “camp.”
- 1 Samuel 28:20 tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”
- 1 Samuel 28:20 tn Heb “food.”
- 1 Samuel 28:21 tn Heb “listened to your voice.”
- 1 Samuel 28:21 tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”
- 1 Samuel 28:23 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַיִּפְצְרוּ (vayyiftseru, “and they pressed”; from the root פָּצַר, patsar) rather than the MT’s וַיִּפְרְצוּ (vayyifretsu, “and they broke forth”; from the root פָּרַץ, parats).
- 1 Samuel 28:23 tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”
- 1 Samuel 28:24 sn Masoretic mss of the Hebrew Bible mark this word as the half-way point in the book of Samuel, treating 1 and 2 Samuel as a single book. Similar notations are found at the midway point for all of the books of the Hebrew Bible.
- 1 Samuel 28:24 tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”
1 Samuel 28:3-25
Christian Standard Bible
3 By this time Samuel had died,(A) all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city,(B) and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.(C) 4 The Philistines gathered 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 his heart pounded. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.(D) 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(E) who is a medium.”(F)
8 Saul disguised himself(G) 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.(H) Bring up for me the one I tell you.”(I)
9 But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done,(J) how he has cut off the mediums and spiritists from 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, no punishment will come to you[a] from 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.”(K) Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he knelt low with his face to the ground and paid homage.(L)
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.(M) He doesn’t answer me anymore,(N) 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.(O) 18 You did not obey the Lord and did not carry out his burning anger against Amalek;(P) 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](Q) 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 had not eaten anything 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(R) 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.(S) He got up off the ground and sat on the bed.(T)
24 The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it.(U) 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.
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