⁷And Saul said to his servants: Seek me a woman that hath a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire 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 mayst 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.

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