1 Samuel 28:8
New International Version
So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”

New Living Translation
So Saul disguised himself by wearing ordinary clothing instead of his royal robes. Then he went to the woman’s home at night, accompanied by two of his men. “I have to talk to a man who has died,” he said. “Will you call up his spirit for me?”

English Standard Version
So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”

Berean Standard Bible
So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.”

King James Bible
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

New King James Version
So Saul 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, “Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

New American Standard Bible
Then Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Consult the spirit for me, please, and bring up for me the one whom I shall name for you.”

NASB 1995
Then Saul disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Conjure up for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall name to you.”

NASB 1977
Then Saul disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Conjure up for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall name to you.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Divine for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall say to you.”

Amplified Bible
So Saul disguised himself by wearing different clothes, and he left with two men, and they came to the woman at night. He said to her, “Conjure up for me, please, and bring up [from the dead] for me [the spirit] whom I shall name to you.”

Christian Standard Bible
Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes and set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I tell you.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes and set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I tell you.”

American Standard Version
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, Divine unto me, I pray thee, by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Shaul stripped his garments and wore another robe, and he went on, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman in the night, and Shaul said to her: “Divine for me by the spirits of the dead and bring up for me him whom I will say to you”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name to thee.

Contemporary English Version
That night, Saul put on different clothing so nobody would recognize him. Then he and two of his men went to the woman, and asked, "Will you bring up the ghost of someone for us?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then 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.

English Revised Version
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, Divine unto me, I pray thee, by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
After disguising himself by putting on other clothes, Saul left with two men and came to the woman that night. He said to her, "Please consult with a dead person for me. Conjure up the person I request."

Good News Translation
So Saul disguised himself; he put on different clothes, and after dark he went with two of his men to see the woman. "Consult the spirits for me and tell me what is going to happen," he said to her. "Call up the spirit of the man I name."

International Standard Version
Saul disguised himself, putting on different clothes. He went along with two men to the woman at night. He said, "Consult a familiar spirit for me and bring up for me the one whom I tell you."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said: 'Divine unto me, I pray thee, by a ghost, and bring me up whomsoever I shall name unto thee.'

Literal Standard Version
And Saul disguises himself and puts on other garments, and goes, he and two of the men with him, and they come to the woman by night, and he says, “Please divine to me by the familiar spirit, and cause him whom I say to you to come up to me.”

Majority Standard Bible
So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.”

New American Bible
So he disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and set out with two companions. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said to her, “Divine for me; conjure up the spirit I tell you.”

NET Bible
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, "Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you."

New Revised Standard Version
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went there, he and two men with him. They came to the woman by night. And he said, “Consult a spirit for me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you.”

New Heart English Bible
Saul disguised himself, and put on other clothing, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Divine a spirit for me, please, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine to me by the familiar spirit, and bring up for me whom I shall name to thee.

World English Bible
Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. Then he said, “Please consult for me by the familiar spirit, and bring me up whomever I shall name to you.”

Young's Literal Translation
And 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.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Saul and the Medium of Endor
7Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.” “There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied. 8So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men. They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.” 9But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?”…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 18:10
Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

Deuteronomy 18:11
casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.

1 Kings 14:2
and Jeroboam said to his wife, "Now get up, disguise yourself so they will not recognize you as my wife, and go to Shiloh. For Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who spoke about my kingship over this people.

1 Chronicles 10:13
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,

2 Chronicles 18:29
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

2 Chronicles 35:22
Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco's words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.

Isaiah 8:19
When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn't a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?


Treasury of Scripture

And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray you, divine to me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name to you.

disguised

1 Kings 14:2,3
And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people…

1 Kings 22:30,34
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle…

Job 24:13-15
They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof…

I pray thee

Deuteronomy 18:11
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

1 Chronicles 10:13
So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;

Isaiah 8:19
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

bring me

1 Samuel 28:15
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

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1 Samuel 28
1. Achish puts confidence in David
3. Saul having destroyed the witches
4. and now in his fear forsaken of God
7. has recourse to a witch
8. who, encouraged by Saul, raises up Samuel
15. Saul hearing his ruin, faints
21. The woman and his servants refresh him with meat














(8) And Saul disguised himself.--The disguise and the time chosen for the expedition served a double purpose. The king would, he thought, be unknown in the darkness and disguise when he came to the witch's dwelling, and there was, too, a far greater probability of his escaping his Philistine foes, whose army lay between him and the village of En-dor.

Divine unto me by the familiar spirit.--Literally, divine unto me by the ob. Keil's remark is interesting: "Prophesying by the ob was probably performed by calling up a departed spirit from Sheol, and obtaining prophecies--i.e., disclosures--concerning one's own fate through the medium of such a spirit." No other commentator touches on the ob here, and Keil leaves it in doubt as to whether he considered the ob was some special spirit devoted to the service of the mistress of the ob, or the spirit or soul of one already dead, who, through some occult power, was to be brought back again for a season to this earth. As far as we can judge of these old mysteries, the sorcerer or sorceress possessed, or was supposed to possess, a "familiar." Through the aid of this "familiar," the departed spirit was compelled or induced to re-visit this world, and to submit to certain questioning. The Hebrew rendered "divine unto me" is of Syriac origin, like most of those words describing illicit vaticinations.--Speaker's Commentary. This miserable power, if it did exist, was one of the things the Israelites learned from the original inhabitants of Canaan. These "black" arts, as they have been called, have, in all ages, in every degree of civilisation, always had an extraordinary fascination for men. It is well known that even in our own "cultured age" similar pretensions are put forth, and the dead are still invoked, summoned, and questioned, as they were in the half-barbarous age when Saul and his companions, in their desperate strait, sought the witch of En-dor.

And bring me him up.--The popular idea has always been that Sheol, the place of departed spirits, is somewhere beneath the ground or earth on which we live, just as heaven, the abode of God and His holy angels, is in a region above the earth. St. Paul speaks in this popular language (Ephesians 4:9), where he refers to the lower parts of the earth as the abode of departed spirits. Hence we have here, "bring me him up." The Christian Church, Bishop Wordsworth reminds us, has adopted this language into her creeds, where she says that Christ in His human soul descended into hell (Hades). Keil well remarks on this human idea of what is "above" and "below": "With our modes of thought, which are so bound up with time and space, it is impossible to represent to ourselves in any other way the difference and contrast between blessedness with God and shade-life in death."



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So Saul
שָׁא֗וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

disguised himself
וַיִּתְחַפֵּ֣שׂ (way·yiṯ·ḥap·pêś)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2664: To seek, to conceal oneself, mask

by putting on
וַיִּלְבַּשׁ֙ (way·yil·baš)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3847: Wrap around, to put on a, garment, clothe

different
אֲחֵרִ֔ים (’ă·ḥê·rîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 312: Hinder, next, other

clothes,
בְּגָדִ֣ים (bə·ḡā·ḏîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage

and he set out
וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ (way·yê·leḵ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1980: To go, come, walk

with
עִמּ֔וֹ (‘im·mōw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

two
וּשְׁנֵ֤י (ū·šə·nê)
Conjunctive waw | Number - mdc
Strong's 8147: Two (a cardinal number)

of his men.
אֲנָשִׁים֙ (’ă·nā·šîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 582: Man, mankind

They came
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ (way·yā·ḇō·’ū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the woman
הָאִשָּׁ֖ה (hā·’iš·šāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

at night,
לָ֑יְלָה (lā·yə·lāh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3915: A twist, night, adversity

and Saul said,
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“Consult
קָֽסֳמִי־ (qā·so·mî-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 7080: To distribute, determine by lot, magical scroll, to divine

a spirit for me.
בָּא֔וֹב (bā·’ō·wḇ)
Preposition, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 178: A bottle (made from animal skin), a necromancer

Bring up
וְהַ֣עֲלִי (wə·ha·‘ă·lî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

for me
לִ֔י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

the one
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I name.�
אֹמַ֖ר (’ō·mar)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT History: 1 Samuel 28:8 Saul disguised himself and put on other (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 28:7
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