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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.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 28:3 tn Heb “in Ramah, even in his city.”
  2. 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).
  3. 1 Samuel 28:3 sn See Isa 8:19 for another reference to magicians who attempted to conjure up underworld spirits.
  4. 1 Samuel 28:5 tn Heb “he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified.”
  5. 1 Samuel 28:6 sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.
  6. 1 Samuel 28:7 tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.
  7. 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.”
  8. 1 Samuel 28:9 tn Heb “how he has cut off.”
  9. 1 Samuel 28:9 tn See the note at v. 3.
  10. 1 Samuel 28:9 tn Heb “my life.”
  11. 1 Samuel 28:12 tn Heb “in a great voice.”
  12. 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.
  13. 1 Samuel 28:17 tn Heb “just as he said by my hand.”
  14. 1 Samuel 28:18 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord.”
  15. 1 Samuel 28:19 tn Heb “And the Lord will give also Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines.”
  16. 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.”
  17. 1 Samuel 28:19 tn Heb “camp.”
  18. 1 Samuel 28:20 tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”
  19. 1 Samuel 28:20 tn Heb “food.”
  20. 1 Samuel 28:21 tn Heb “listened to your voice.”
  21. 1 Samuel 28:21 tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”
  22. 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).
  23. 1 Samuel 28:23 tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”
  24. 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.
  25. 1 Samuel 28:24 tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”
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1 Samuel 28:3-25
International Standard Version

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[a] 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[b] said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly.[c] 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[d] coming up out of the ground.”

14 Saul[e] 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[f] 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.[g] The Lord has torn the kingdom away from you[h] 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[i] 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[j] 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.[k] I’ll put a piece of bread before you so you can eat and have strength to go on your way.”[l]

23 Saul[m] 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.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 28:6 I.e. a device used by the priest to determine God’s will
  2. 1 Samuel 28:11 Lit. He
  3. 1 Samuel 28:12 Lit. with a loud voice
  4. 1 Samuel 28:13 Or a spirit; or a god
  5. 1 Samuel 28:14 Lit. He
  6. 1 Samuel 28:15 The Heb. lacks messages written by
  7. 1 Samuel 28:17 Lit. by my hand
  8. 1 Samuel 28:17 Lit. from your hand
  9. 1 Samuel 28:19 Lit. hand
  10. 1 Samuel 28:21 Lit. maidservant
  11. 1 Samuel 28:22 Lit. maidservant
  12. 1 Samuel 28:22 Lit. the way
  13. 1 Samuel 28:23 Lit. He
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