New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
1 Samuel 28
1
While David was living in Ziklag, the Philistines gathered their army together. They planned to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, "I want you to understand that you and your men must march out with me and my army."
2
David said, "I understand. You will see for yourself what I can do." Achish replied, "All right. I'll make you my own personal guard for life."
3
Samuel had died. The whole nation of Israel was filled with sorrow because he was dead. They had buried his body in his own town of Ramah. Saul had gotten rid of people who get messages from those who have died. He had also gotten rid of people who talk to the spirits of the dead. He had thrown all of them out of the land.
Reference
4
The Philistines gathered together and set up camp at Shunem. At the same time, Saul gathered all of the fighting men of Israel together. They set up camp at Gilboa.
Reference
📍 Gilboa
6
He asked the Lord for advice. But the Lord didn't answer him through dreams or prophets. He didn't answer him when Saul had the priest use the Urim.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 14:37
John 9:31
James 4:3
Deuteronomy 33:8
Prophecy
Numbers 12:6
Lamentations 2:9
Jeremiah 23:28
References Lord
Numbers 27:21
Matthew 1:20
Exodus 28:30
7
Saul spoke to his attendants. He said, "Find me a woman who gets messages from those who have died. Then I can go and ask her some questions." "There's a woman like that in Endor," they said.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 83:10
Joshua 17:11
Habakkuk 2:3
Spirit
Acts 16:16
1 Chronicles 10:13
Leviticus 19:31
8
Saul put on different clothes so people wouldn't know who he was. At night he and two of his men went to see the woman. "I want you to talk to a spirit for me," he said. "Bring up the spirit of the dead person I choose."
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Kings 22:30
2 Chronicles 35:22
2 Chronicles 18:29
Spirit
Isaiah 8:19
1 Chronicles 10:13
9
But the woman said to him, "By now you must know what Saul has done. He has cut off everyone who gets messages from those who have died. He has also cut off everyone who talks to the spirits of the dead. He has thrown all of them out of the land. Why are you trying to trap me? Why do you want to have me put to death?"
Reference
Spirit
1 Samuel 28:3
10
Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord. He promised the woman, "You can be sure that the Lord lives. And you can be just as sure that you won't be punished for helping me."
11
Then the woman asked, "Whose spirit should I bring up for you?" "Bring Samuel up," he said.
12
When the woman saw Samuel, she let out a loud scream. She said to Saul, "Why have you tricked me? You are King Saul!"
13
He said to her, "Don't be afraid. Tell me what you see." The woman said, "I see a spirit. He's coming up out of the ground."
14
"What does he look like?" Saul asked. "An old man wearing a robe is coming up," she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel. He bowed down. He lay down flat with his face toward the ground.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 15:27
15
Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you troubled me by bringing me up from the dead?" "I'm having big problems," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me. God has turned away from me. He doesn't answer me anymore. He doesn't speak to me through prophets or dreams. So I've called on you to tell me what to do."
Reference
16
Samuel said, "The Lord has turned away from you. He has become your enemy. So why are you asking me what you should do?
17
The Lord has spoken through me and has done what he said he would do. He has torn the kingdom out of your hands. He has given it to one of your neighbors. He has given it to David.
18
You didn't obey the Lord. You didn't carry out his burning anger against the Amalekites. So he's punishing you today.
Reference
19
"He will hand both Israel and you over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be down here with me. The Lord will also hand Israel's army over to the Philistines."
20
Immediately Saul fell flat on the ground. What Samuel had said filled Saul with fear. His strength was gone. He hadn't eaten anything all that day and night.
21
The woman went over to Saul because she saw that he was very upset. She said, "Look, I've obeyed you. I put my own life in danger by doing what you told me to do.
Reference
22
So please listen to me. Let me give you some food. Eat it. Then you will have the strength to go on your way."
23
But he refused. He said, "I don't want anything to eat." Then his men joined the woman in begging him to eat. Finally, he paid attention to them. He got up from the ground and sat on a couch.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Kings 21:4
24
The woman had a fat calf at her house. She killed it at once. She got some flour. She mixed it and baked some bread that didn't have any yeast in it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 15:23
25
Then she set the food in front of Saul and his men. They ate it. That same night they got up and left.
Summary of 1 Samuel 28
1 Samuel 28 opens with the tension ratcheting up for both David and Saul, setting the stage for one of the most intense moments in their stories. Imagine David: after living as an outsider with the Philistines for a while, he finds himself in a complicated spot. The Philistines are gearing up to wage another war against Israel, and Achish, king of Gath, turns to David and says, “I want you and your men fighting at my side.” Achish doesn’t just say this lightly — he’s come to trust David during his stay, maybe even sees him as a loyal ally now. David’s answer is a bit slippery, leaving Achish convinced, but the story doesn’t spill David’s real intentions just yet. There’s a tension about what side David’s truly on, which hangs over this chapter like a cloud.
Meanwhile, Saul’s fear gnaws at him as he faces the Philistine army. He looks out over their vast ranks and feels both outnumbered and out of his depth. He desperately wants advice, the kind of divine guidance he once took for granted. He tries everything: dreams, sacred objects (the Urim), and even seeks out the prophets. Silence. There’s just nothing from God, no hint or nudge, not even a whisper.
This silence is crushing. Saul’s anxiety grows because he’s confronting a crisis with no answers, feeling abandoned at the very moment he needs direction most. The tragedy is, he once took a hard line against spiritual practices like witchcraft, driving out mediums and fortune-tellers in line with God’s commands. It was a proud policy — no room for the occult among God’s people. Now the irony is bitter: the man who purged Israel of forbidden spirituality finds himself so desperate he’s willing to go back on his own decree.
So Saul asks his servants to find a medium — someone who can supposedly speak with the dead. They know just the place: Endor. Saul, worried he’ll be recognized and possibly stopped, disguises himself and sneaks out at night with two loyal men. The shadows around Endor fit Saul’s mood perfectly — anxious, secretive, ashamed.
When Saul meets the woman, she’s immediately suspicious and scared. She knows Saul’s law leaves her exposed; the wrong move could mean her life. But Saul promises her safety, swearing by the very Lord who forbade this kind of thing in the first place. He asks her to summon Samuel, the prophet who had been his guide but now lies dead.
She goes through her rituals, and something happens that shakes her to the core — she sees Samuel, and suddenly realizes this visitor is none other than King Saul. There’s a moment of fear, almost panic, from the medium. She describes what she sees: an old man in a familiar cloak. Saul knows it’s Samuel, and he falls facedown in awe and desperation.
Samuel, speaking from the afterlife, is blunt. “Why did you drag me back?” he asks. Saul pours out his fears, telling Samuel about the coming Philistine attack and God’s painful silence. What he wants is hope, or at least a plan. What he gets is judgment.
Samuel doesn’t sugarcoat his words or offer Saul a chance to set things right. He reminds Saul that God has already turned away because of Saul’s disobedience. The kingdom, Samuel says, isn’t his anymore. It’s going to David, just as God declared. On top of that, Samuel lays out a hard truth: by the next day, Saul and his sons will be dead, and Israel’s army will fall to the Philistines. There’s no way out.
The news drops Saul flat. It’s not just that he’s fasted (he hasn’t eaten all day, likely because his nerves were shot), but the psychological blow just drains what fight he had left. The woman — the very medium he shouldn’t have been near — now sees how low Saul has sunk. She suddenly takes on a human role, showing compassion. She urges him to eat, to regain some strength for whatever lies ahead. Initially, he resists, maybe lost in grief, maybe just too weak. But the medium and Saul’s men convince him. She prepares a meal — fresh bread, a fattened calf. The last supper before Saul staggers off into the darkness, heading towards a future Samuel has already sealed.
Stepping back, this whole episode with Saul at Endor is one of the darkest chapters in his life, for a lot of reasons. Saul spent years making choices out of fear and jealousy, constantly trying to control what he couldn’t, always looking for reassurance from God but turning away from real obedience. Now, in his lowest hour, he seeks guidance but finds that all the usual channels are cut off. The tragedy isn’t just the silence from heaven; it’s the years of ignoring warning signs and dismissing God’s commands. Saul’s desperation doesn't just come out of nowhere. The roots go deep, fed by pride, stubbornness, and the belief that he could always find his own way.
His visit to the medium isn’t just a one-time slip. It’s the symbol of how far he’s willing to go when he’s cornered — crossing boundaries he once enforced, violating his own values. The ultimate irony is that he gets the answer he feared, not the one he hoped for: God’s warning stands, and no magic or shortcut can undo it. What Saul really wanted — control, a second chance, a comforting word — was never on offer.
There’s a strong contrast here. David, though in trouble, is still holding onto a thread of hope. He’s got hard choices ahead, sure, but the story hints he hasn’t lost his connection with God. Saul, by contrast, looks alone and lost, driven by fear and haunted by the consequences of his own actions.
Even the simple meal at the end — after so much hunger, after such bad news — feels like a sad, quiet ritual, not a moment of hope but more like a funeral feast before the battle. Saul leaves, not with new answers or a strong heart, but with his fate sealed.
All told, 1 Samuel 28 doesn’t just tell a spooky story about a king meeting a medium. It shows how decisions — especially the bad ones — add up over time. Saul’s last-ditch effort to hear from God comes too late, and the silence he faces is the product of years of stubbornness. The king who once inspired others now walks into his final battle alone, propped up by food from someone he’d once called an enemy, carrying the hard truth that there’s no escape from what’s coming. This is the turning point. Saul’s story, which started with so much hope, now rushes headlong toward its tragic end.
Meanwhile, Saul’s fear gnaws at him as he faces the Philistine army. He looks out over their vast ranks and feels both outnumbered and out of his depth. He desperately wants advice, the kind of divine guidance he once took for granted. He tries everything: dreams, sacred objects (the Urim), and even seeks out the prophets. Silence. There’s just nothing from God, no hint or nudge, not even a whisper.
This silence is crushing. Saul’s anxiety grows because he’s confronting a crisis with no answers, feeling abandoned at the very moment he needs direction most. The tragedy is, he once took a hard line against spiritual practices like witchcraft, driving out mediums and fortune-tellers in line with God’s commands. It was a proud policy — no room for the occult among God’s people. Now the irony is bitter: the man who purged Israel of forbidden spirituality finds himself so desperate he’s willing to go back on his own decree.
So Saul asks his servants to find a medium — someone who can supposedly speak with the dead. They know just the place: Endor. Saul, worried he’ll be recognized and possibly stopped, disguises himself and sneaks out at night with two loyal men. The shadows around Endor fit Saul’s mood perfectly — anxious, secretive, ashamed.
When Saul meets the woman, she’s immediately suspicious and scared. She knows Saul’s law leaves her exposed; the wrong move could mean her life. But Saul promises her safety, swearing by the very Lord who forbade this kind of thing in the first place. He asks her to summon Samuel, the prophet who had been his guide but now lies dead.
She goes through her rituals, and something happens that shakes her to the core — she sees Samuel, and suddenly realizes this visitor is none other than King Saul. There’s a moment of fear, almost panic, from the medium. She describes what she sees: an old man in a familiar cloak. Saul knows it’s Samuel, and he falls facedown in awe and desperation.
Samuel, speaking from the afterlife, is blunt. “Why did you drag me back?” he asks. Saul pours out his fears, telling Samuel about the coming Philistine attack and God’s painful silence. What he wants is hope, or at least a plan. What he gets is judgment.
Samuel doesn’t sugarcoat his words or offer Saul a chance to set things right. He reminds Saul that God has already turned away because of Saul’s disobedience. The kingdom, Samuel says, isn’t his anymore. It’s going to David, just as God declared. On top of that, Samuel lays out a hard truth: by the next day, Saul and his sons will be dead, and Israel’s army will fall to the Philistines. There’s no way out.
The news drops Saul flat. It’s not just that he’s fasted (he hasn’t eaten all day, likely because his nerves were shot), but the psychological blow just drains what fight he had left. The woman — the very medium he shouldn’t have been near — now sees how low Saul has sunk. She suddenly takes on a human role, showing compassion. She urges him to eat, to regain some strength for whatever lies ahead. Initially, he resists, maybe lost in grief, maybe just too weak. But the medium and Saul’s men convince him. She prepares a meal — fresh bread, a fattened calf. The last supper before Saul staggers off into the darkness, heading towards a future Samuel has already sealed.
Stepping back, this whole episode with Saul at Endor is one of the darkest chapters in his life, for a lot of reasons. Saul spent years making choices out of fear and jealousy, constantly trying to control what he couldn’t, always looking for reassurance from God but turning away from real obedience. Now, in his lowest hour, he seeks guidance but finds that all the usual channels are cut off. The tragedy isn’t just the silence from heaven; it’s the years of ignoring warning signs and dismissing God’s commands. Saul’s desperation doesn't just come out of nowhere. The roots go deep, fed by pride, stubbornness, and the belief that he could always find his own way.
His visit to the medium isn’t just a one-time slip. It’s the symbol of how far he’s willing to go when he’s cornered — crossing boundaries he once enforced, violating his own values. The ultimate irony is that he gets the answer he feared, not the one he hoped for: God’s warning stands, and no magic or shortcut can undo it. What Saul really wanted — control, a second chance, a comforting word — was never on offer.
There’s a strong contrast here. David, though in trouble, is still holding onto a thread of hope. He’s got hard choices ahead, sure, but the story hints he hasn’t lost his connection with God. Saul, by contrast, looks alone and lost, driven by fear and haunted by the consequences of his own actions.
Even the simple meal at the end — after so much hunger, after such bad news — feels like a sad, quiet ritual, not a moment of hope but more like a funeral feast before the battle. Saul leaves, not with new answers or a strong heart, but with his fate sealed.
All told, 1 Samuel 28 doesn’t just tell a spooky story about a king meeting a medium. It shows how decisions — especially the bad ones — add up over time. Saul’s last-ditch effort to hear from God comes too late, and the silence he faces is the product of years of stubbornness. The king who once inspired others now walks into his final battle alone, propped up by food from someone he’d once called an enemy, carrying the hard truth that there’s no escape from what’s coming. This is the turning point. Saul’s story, which started with so much hope, now rushes headlong toward its tragic end.