1 Kings 28
28
1And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered together their armies to be prepared for war against Israel. And Achis said to David: Know thou now assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to the war, thou, and thy men.
2And David said to Achis: Now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achis said to David: And I will appoint thee to guard my life for ever.
3Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel mourned for him, and buried him in Ramatha his city. And Saul had put away all the magicians and soothsayers out of the land.
4And the Philistines were gathered together, and came and camped in Sunam. And Saul also gathered together all Israel, and came to Gelboe.
5And Saul saw the army of the Philistines, and was afraid: and his heart was very much dismayed.
6And he consulted the Lord, and he answered him not; neither by dreams, nor by priests, nor by prophets.
7And Saul said to his servants: Seek me a woman that hath a divining spirit; and I will go to her, and inquire by her. And his servants said to him: There is a woman that hath a divining spirit at Endor.
8Then he disguised himself and put on other clothes. And he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he said to her: Divine to me by thy divining spirit, and bring me up him whom I shall tell thee.
9And the woman said to him: Behold, thou knowest all that Saul hath done, and how he hath rooted out the magicians and soothsayers from the land. Why then dost thou lay a snare for my life, to cause me to be put to death?
10And Saul swore unto her by the Lord, saying: As the Lord liveth there shall no evil happen to thee for this thing.
11And the woman said to him: Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and said to Saul: Why hast thou deceived me? For thou art Saul.
13And the king said to her: Fear not. What hast thou seen? And the woman said to Saul: I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
14And he said to her: What form is he of? And she said: An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul understood that it was Samuel, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground, and adored.
15And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou disturbed my rest, that I should be brought up? And Saul said: I am in great distress; for the Philistines fight against me; and God is departed from me; and would not hear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams. Therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest shew me what I shall do.
16And Samuel said: Why askest thou me, seeing the Lord has departed from thee, and is gone over to thy rival?
17For the Lord will do to thee as he spoke by me; and he will rend thy kingdom out of thy hand, and will give it to thy neighbour David.
18Because thou didst not obey the voice of the Lord, neither didst thou execute the wrath of his indignation upon Amalec. Therefore hath the Lord done to thee what thou sufferest this day.
19And the Lord also will deliver Israel with thee into the hands of the Philistines. And to-morrow thou and thy sons shall be with me. And the Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
20And forthwith Saul fell all along on the ground, for he was frightened with the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day.
21And the woman came to Saul (for he was very much troubled) and said to him: Behold, thy handmaid hath obeyed thy voice; and I have put my life in my hand; and I hearkened unto the words which thou spokest to me.
22Now therefore hear thou also the voice of thy handmaid: and let me set before thee a morsel of bread, that thou mayest eat and recover strength, and be able to go on thy journey.
23But he refused, and said: I will not eat. But his servants and the woman forced him; and at length hearkening to their voice he arose from the ground and sat upon the bed.
24Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she made haste and killed it: and taking meal kneaded it, and baked some unleavened bread,
25And set it before Saul, and before his servants. And when they had eaten they rose up, and walked all that night.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Samuel 28
28
Saul and the Medium of Endor
1Later, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You understand that you and your men must join with me in my army.”
2David answered, “Certainly! Then you can see for yourself what I, your servant, can do!”
Achish said, “Fine, I’ll make you my bodyguard for life.”
3Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah.
And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land of Israel.
4The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. 5When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid. His heart pounded with fear. 6He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him through dreams, Urim or prophets. 7Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium. I’ll go and ask her what will happen.”
His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.”
8Then Saul put on other clothes so no one would know who he was. At night Saul and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Call up the person I name.”
9But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers out from the land of Israel. You are trying to trap me and kill me.”
10Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the Lord. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for doing this.”
11The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up for you?”
He answered, “Bring up Samuel.”
12When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed loudly. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!”
13The king said to the woman, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”
14Saul asked, “What does he look like?”
The woman answered, “An old man wearing a coat is coming up.”
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown on the ground.
15Samuel asked Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
Saul said, “I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me. God has left me. He won’t answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That’s why I called you. I want you to tell me what to do.”
16Samuel said, “The Lord has left you. He has become your enemy. So why do you call on me? 17He has done what he said he would do. He said these things through me. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands. He has given it to one of your neighbors, David. 18You did not obey the Lord. You did not show the Amalekites how angry he was with them. That’s why he has done this to you today. 19The Lord will give both Israel and you to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will let the Philistines defeat the army of Israel.”
20Saul quickly fell to the ground and lay there. He was afraid because of what Samuel had said. He was also very weak because he had eaten nothing all that day and night.
21Then the woman came to Saul. She saw that he was really frightened. She said, “Look, I, your servant, have obeyed you. I have risked my life and done what you told me to do. 22Now please listen to me. Let me give you some food. Then you may eat and have enough strength to go on your way.”
23But Saul refused. He said, “I won’t eat.”
His servants joined the woman in asking him to eat. And he listened to them. So he got up from the ground and sat on the bed.
24The woman had a fat calf at the house. She quickly killed it. She took some flour and mixed dough with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast. 25She put the food before them, and they ate. Then that same night they got up and left.
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