1 Samuel 28:7–20

⁷Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,^m so I may go and inquire of her.”

“There is one in Endor,ⁿ” they said.

⁸So Saul disguised^o himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult^p a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

⁹But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off^q the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap^r for my life to bring about my death?”

¹⁰Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”

¹¹Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”

“Bring up Samuel,” he said.

¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me?^s You are Saul!”

¹³The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”

The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure^a coming up out of the earth.”^t

¹⁴“What does he look like?” he asked.

“An old man wearing a robe^u is coming up,” she said.

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

¹⁵Samuel 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^v from me. He no longer answers^w me, either by prophets or by dreams.^x So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

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

²⁰Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.