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 talks with Samuel's ghost
1-3Samuel had died some time earlier,#28.1-3 earlier: See 25.1. and people from all over Israel had attended his funeral in his home town of Ramah.#1 S 25.1.#Lv 20.27; Dt 18.10,11.
Meanwhile, Saul had been trying to get rid of everyone who spoke with the spirits of the dead.#28.1-3 dead: Many people believed that it was possible to talk to spirits of the dead, and that these spirits could tell the future. But one day the Philistines brought their soldiers together to attack Israel.
Achish told David, “Of course, you know that you and your men must fight as part of our Philistine army.”
David answered, “That will give you a chance to see for yourself just how well we can fight!”
“In that case,” Achish said, “you and your men will always be my bodyguards.”
4The Philistines went to Shunem and set up camp. Saul called the army of Israel together, and they set up their camp in Gilboa. 5Saul took one look at the Philistine army and started shaking with fear. 6So he asked the LORD what to do. But the LORD would not answer, either in a dream or by a priest or a prophet.#Nu 27.21. 7Then Saul told his officers, “Find me a woman who can talk to the spirits of the dead. I'll go to her and find out what's going to happen.”
His servants told him, “There's a woman at Endor who can talk to spirits of the dead.”
8That night, Saul put on different clothing so nobody would recognize him. Then he and two of his men went to the woman, and asked, “Will you bring up the ghost of someone for us?”
9The woman said, “Why are you trying to trick me and get me killed? You know King Saul has got rid of everyone who talks to the spirits of the dead!”
10Saul replied, “I swear by the living LORD that nothing will happen to you because of this.”
11“Who do you want me to bring up?” she asked.
“Bring up the ghost of Samuel,” he answered.
12When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. Then she turned to Saul and said, “You've tricked me! You're the king!”
13“Don't be afraid,” Saul replied. “Just tell me what you see.”
She answered, “I see a spirit rising up out of the ground.”
14“What does it look like?”
“It looks like an old man wearing a robe.”
Saul knew it was Samuel, so he bowed down low.
15“Why are you bothering me by bringing me up like this?” Samuel asked.
“I'm terribly worried,” Saul answered. “The Philistines are about to attack me. God has turned his back on me and won't answer any more by prophets or by dreams. What should I do?”
16Samuel said:
If the LORD has turned away from you and is now your enemy, don't ask me what to do. 17I've already told you: the LORD has sworn to take the kingdom from you and give it to David. And that's just what he's doing!#1 S 15.28. 18When the LORD was angry with the Amalekites, he told you to destroy them, but you didn't do it. That's why the LORD is doing this to you.#1 S 15.3-9. 19Tomorrow the LORD will let the Philistines defeat Israel's army, then you and your sons will join me down here in the world of the dead.
20At once, Saul collapsed and lay stretched out on the floor, terrified at what Samuel had said. He was weak because he had not eaten anything since the day before.
21The woman came over to Saul, and when she saw that he was completely terrified, she said, “Your Majesty, I listened to you and risked my life to do what you asked. 22Now please listen to me. Let me get you a little something to eat. It will give you strength for your walk back to camp.”
23“No, I won't eat!”
But his officers and the woman kept on urging Saul, until he finally agreed. He got up off the floor and sat on the bed. 24Straight away the woman killed a calf that she had been fattening up. She cooked part of the meat and baked some thin bread.#28.24 thin bread: Bread made without yeast, since there was no time for the bread to rise. 25Then she served the food to Saul and his officers, who ate and left before daylight.
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