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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1 Kings 28: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Samuel 28
28
Saul and the Medium
1At that time, the Philistines # 1Sm 29:1 brought their military units together into one army to fight against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You know, of course, that you and your men must march out in the army # DSS, LXX read battle with me.”
2David replied to Achish, “Good, you will find out what your servant can do.”
So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.” # 1Sm 1:22,28
3By this time Samuel had died, # 1Sm 25:1 and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his city, # 1Sm 7:17 and Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land. # Lv 19:31; 20:27; Dt 18:10-11 4The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel, and they camped at Gilboa. 5When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid and trembled violently. 6He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets. # Ex 28:30; Nm 27:21; 1Kg 3:5 7Saul 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 # Jos 17:1; Ps 83:10 who is a medium.” # Ac 16:16
8Saul disguised himself # 2Ch 18:29; 35:21-22 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. # Is 8:19 Bring up for me the one I tell you.” # Dt 18:10-11
9But the woman said to him, “You surely know what Saul has done, # 1Sm 28:3 how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why are you setting a trap for me to get me killed? ”
10Then Saul swore to her by the Lord: “As surely as the Lord lives, nothing bad will happen to you because of this.”
11“Who is it that you want me to bring up for you? ” the woman asked.
“Bring up Samuel for me,” he answered.
12When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, and then she asked Saul, “Why did you deceive me? You are Saul! ”
13But the king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see? ”
“I see a spirit form # Or a god, or a divine being coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered.
14Then Saul asked her, “What does he look like? ”
“An old man is coming up,” she replied. “He’s wearing a robe.” # 1Sm 15:27 Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed his face to the ground and paid homage. # 1Sm 24:8
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. # 1Sm 16:13-14; 18:12 He doesn’t answer me anymore, # 1Sm 28:6 either through the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do.”
16Samuel answered, “Since the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me? 17The Lord has done # Some Hb, some LXX mss, Vg read done to you exactly what He said through me: The Lord has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. # 1Sm 15:28 18You did not obey the Lord and did not carry out His burning anger against Amalek; # 1Sm 15:1-9 therefore the Lord has done this to you today. 19The Lord will also hand Israel over to the Philistines along with you. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, # LXX reads sons will fall # 1Sm 31:2; Jb 3:17-19 and the Lord will hand Israel’s army over to the Philistines.”
20Immediately, Saul fell flat on the ground. He was terrified by Samuel’s words and was also weak because he hadn’t had any food all day and all night. 21The 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 # 1Sm 19:5 and did what you told me to do. 22Now 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.”
23He refused, saying, “I won’t eat,” but when his servants and the woman urged him, he listened to them. # 2Kg 5:13 He got up off the ground and sat on the bed. # Est 1:6; Ezk 23:41
24The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it. # Gn 18:6-7 She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread. 25She served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Afterward, they got up and left that night.
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