1 Samuel 28
28
1And it cometh to pass in those days, that the Philistines gather their camps for the war, to fight against Israel, and Achish saith unto David, ‘Thou dost certainly know that with me thou dost go out into the camp, thou and thy men.’
2And David saith unto Achish, ‘Therefore — thou dost know that which thy servant dost do.’ And Achish saith unto David, ‘Therefore — keeper of my head I do appoint thee all the days.’
3And Samuel hath died, and all Israel mourn for him, and bury him in Ramah, even in his city, and Saul hath turned aside those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.
4And the Philistines are gathered, and come in, and encamp in Shunem, and Saul gathereth all Israel, and they encamp in Gilboa,
5and Saul seeth the camp of the Philistines, and feareth, and his heart trembleth greatly,
6and Saul asketh at Jehovah, and Jehovah hath not answered him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
7And Saul saith to his servants, ‘Seek for me a woman possessing a familiar spirit, and I go unto her, and inquire of her;’ and his servants say unto him, ‘Lo, a woman possessing a familiar spirit in En-dor.’
8And Saul disguiseth himself and putteth on other garments, and goeth, he and two of the men with him, and they come in unto the woman by night, and he saith, ‘Divine, I pray thee, to me by the familiar spirit, and cause to come up to me him whom I say unto thee.’
9And the woman saith unto him, ‘Lo, thou hast known that which Saul hath done, that he hath cut off those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land; and why art thou laying a snare for my soul — to put me to death?’
10And Saul sweareth to her by Jehovah, saying, ‘Jehovah liveth, punishment doth not meet thee for this thing.’
11And the woman saith, ‘Whom do I bring up to thee?’ and he saith, ‘Samuel — bring up to me.’
12And the woman seeth Samuel, and crieth with a loud voice, and the woman speaketh unto Saul, saying, ‘Why hast thou deceived me — and thou Saul?’
13And the king saith to her, ‘Do not fear; for what hast thou seen?’ and the woman saith unto Saul, ‘Gods I have seen coming up out of the earth.’
14And he saith to her, ‘What [is] his form?’ and she saith, ‘An aged man is coming up, and he [is] covered with an upper robe;’ and Saul knoweth that he [is] Samuel, and boweth — face to thee earth — and doth obeisance.
15And Samuel saith unto Saul, ‘Why hast thou troubled me, to bring me up?’ And Saul saith, ‘I have great distress, and the Philistines are fighting against me, God hath turned aside from me, and hath not answered me any more, either by the hand of the prophets, or by dreams; and I call for thee to let me know what I do.’
16And Samuel saith, ‘And why dost thou ask me, and Jehovah hath turned aside from thee, and is thine enemy?
17And Jehovah doth for Himself as He hath spoken by my hand, and Jehovah rendeth the kingdom out of thy hand, and giveth it to thy neighbour — to David.
18Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, nor didst the fierceness of His anger on Amalek — therefore this thing hath Jehovah done to thee this day;
19yea, Jehovah giveth also Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow thou and thy sons [are] with me; also the camp of Israel doth Jehovah give into the hand of the Philistines.’
20And Saul hasteth and falleth — the fulness of his stature — to the earth, and feareth greatly because of the words of Samuel; also power was not in him, for he had not eaten bread all the day, and all the night.
21And the woman cometh in unto Saul, and seeth that he hath been greatly troubled, and saith unto him, ‘Lo, thy maid-servant hath hearkened to thy voice, and I put my soul in my hand, and I obey thy words which thou hast spoken unto me;
22and now, hearken, I pray thee, also thou, to the voice of thy maid-servant, and I set before thee a morsel of bread, and eat, and there is in thee power when thou goest in the way.’
23And he refuseth, and saith, ‘I do not eat;’ and his servants urge on him, and also the woman, and he hearkeneth to their voice, and riseth from the earth, and sitteth on the bed.
24And the woman hath a calf of the stall in the house, and she hasteth and slaughtereth it, and taketh flour, and kneadeth, and baketh it unleavened things,
25and bringeth nigh before Saul, and before his servants, and they eat, and rise, and go on, during that night.
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1 Samuel 28: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 28
28
Saul Consults a Medium
1About that time the Philistines mustered their armies for another war with Israel. King Achish told David, “You and your men will be expected to join me in battle.”
2“Very well!” David agreed. “Now you will see for yourself what we can do.”
Then Achish told David, “I will make you my personal bodyguard for life.”
3Meanwhile, Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown. And Saul had banned from the land of Israel all mediums and those who consult the spirits of the dead.
4The Philistines set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul gathered all the army of Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. 6He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots#28:6 Hebrew by Urim. or by the prophets. 7Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.”
His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.”
8So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men.
“I have to talk to a man who has died,” he said. “Will you call up his spirit for me?”
9“Are you trying to get me killed?” the woman demanded. “You know that Saul has outlawed all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead. Why are you setting a trap for me?”
10But Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord and promised, “As surely as the Lord lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this.”
11Finally, the woman said, “Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?”
“Call up Samuel,” Saul replied.
12When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, “You’ve deceived me! You are Saul!”
13“Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What do you see?”
“I see a god#28:13 Or gods. coming up out of the earth,” she said.
14“What does he look like?” Saul asked.
“He is an old man wrapped in a robe,” she replied. Saul realized it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him.
15“Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?” Samuel asked Saul.
“Because I am in deep trouble,” Saul replied. “The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.”
16But Samuel replied, “Why ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy? 17The Lord has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. 18The Lord has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. 19What’s more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The Lord will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat.”
20Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel’s words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
21When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, “Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. 22Now do what I say, and let me give you a little something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back.”
23But Saul refused to eat anything. Then his advisers joined the woman in urging him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
24The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread. 25She brought the meal to Saul and his advisers, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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