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14 “What does he look like?” asked Saul. “An old man is coming up wrapped in a robe,” she replied. Saul knew that it was Samuel, and so he bowed his face to the ground in homage.

Saul’s Doom. 15 [a]Samuel then said to Saul, “Why do you disturb me by conjuring me up?” Saul replied: “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are waging war against me and God has turned away from me. Since God no longer answers me through prophets or in dreams, I have called upon you to tell me what I should do.”(A) 16 To this Samuel said: “But why do you ask me, if the Lord has abandoned you for your neighbor?(B) 17 The Lord has done to you what he declared through me: he has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David.

18 “Because you disobeyed the Lord’s directive and would not carry out his fierce anger against Amalek, the Lord has done this to you today.(C) 19 Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel, and you as well, into the hands of the Philistines. By tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the Lord will have delivered the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 28:15–19 The consultation with the medium serves to remind the reader that the Lord’s plan for David marches onward; no sorcery can thwart it.

14 “What does he look like?” he asked.

“An old man wearing a robe(A) is coming up,” she said.

Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.

15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed(B) from me. He no longer answers(C) me, either by prophets or by dreams.(D) So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn(E) the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey(F) the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath(G) against the Amalekites,(H) the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons(I) will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”

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