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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1 Samuel 28
28
The Philistines Prepare for War
1Later, the Philistines gathered their armies to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “Do you understand that you and your men must go with me to fight against Israel?”
2David answered, “Certainly, then you can see for yourself what I can do.”
Achish said, “Fine, I will make you my permanent bodyguard.”
Saul and the Woman at Endor
3After Samuel died, all the Israelites mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his hometown.
Saul had removed the mediums and fortunetellers from Israel.
4The Philistines prepared for war. They came to Shunem and made their camp at that place. Saul gathered all the Israelites together and made his camp at Gilboa. 5Saul saw the Philistine army, and he was afraid. His heart pounded with fear. 6He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him. God did not talk to Saul in dreams. God did not use the Urim to give him an answer, and God did not use prophets to speak to Saul. 7Finally, Saul said to his officers, “Find me a woman who is a medium. Then I can go ask her what will happen.”
His officers answered, “There is a medium at Endor.#28:7 Endor A town around the mountain from Shunem, where the Philistines were camped. Saul had to go around them to get to Endor.”
8That night, Saul put on different clothes so that no one would know who he was. Then Saul and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “I want you to bring up a ghost who can tell me what will happen in the future. You must call for the ghost of the person I name.”
9But the woman said to him, “You know that Saul forced all the mediums and fortunetellers to leave the land of Israel. You are trying to trap me and kill me.”
10Saul used the Lord’s name to make a promise to the woman. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for doing this.”
11The woman asked, “Who do you want me to bring up for you?”
Saul answered, “Bring up Samuel.”
12And it happened—the woman saw Samuel and screamed. She said to Saul, “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.#28:13 ground Or “Sheol, the place of death.””
14Saul asked, “What does he look like?”
The woman answered, “He looks like an old man wearing a special robe.”
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down. His face touched the ground. 15Samuel said to Saul, “Why did you bother me? Why did you bring me up?”
Saul answered, “I am in trouble! The Philistines have come to fight me, and God has left me. God won’t answer me anymore. He won’t use prophets or dreams to answer me, so I called you. I want you to tell me what to do.”
16Samuel said, “The Lord left you and is now your enemy, so why are you asking me for advice? 17The Lord used me to tell you what he would do, and now he is doing what he said he would do. He is tearing the kingdom out of your hands and giving it to your neighbor, David. 18The Lord was angry with the Amalekites and told you to destroy them. But you did not obey him. That’s why the Lord is doing this to you today. 19The Lord will let the Philistines defeat you and the army of Israel today. Tomorrow, you and your sons will be here with me.”
20Saul quickly fell to the ground and lay stretched out there. Saul was afraid because of what Samuel said. Saul was also very weak because he had not eaten any food all that day and night.
21The woman came over to Saul and saw how afraid he was. She said, “Look, I am your servant. I have obeyed you. I risked my life and did what you told me to do. 22Please, listen to me. You need to eat. Let me get you some food. Then you will have enough strength to go on your way.”
23But Saul refused. He said, “I won’t eat.”
Saul’s officers joined the woman and begged him to eat. Finally, Saul listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the bed. 24The woman had a calf that she had been fattening. She quickly killed the calf. She took some flour and pressed it with her hands. Then she baked some bread without yeast. 25The woman put the food before Saul and his officers and they ate. Then they got up and left during the night.
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