1 Samuel 28

¹Now the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek, while Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.

²As the Philistine leaders marched out with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.

¹Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

⁷When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers marched up toward Israel. And when the Israelites learned of this, they feared the Philistines

¹²So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”

⁵Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

¹These are the nations that the Lord left to test all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars in Canaan,

²if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly:

⁹Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

¹⁰who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”

¹⁶And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”

¹⁷“Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”

³¹You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

²⁷A man or a woman who is a medium or spiritist must surely be put to death. They shall be stoned; their blood is upon them.’”

¹When Samuel died, all Israel gathered to mourn for him; and they buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David set out and went down to the Wilderness of Paran.

¹⁸You must not allow a sorceress to live.

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

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

¹⁷Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the Lord.

¹⁸Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

⁸One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.

⁶“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him.

²¹O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.

¹²he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung the bodies after they had struck down Saul at Gilboa.

²When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.

¹¹Terrors frighten him on every side and harass his every step.

²⁰But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea, for it cannot be still, and its waves churn up mire and muck.

²¹“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

¹⁹How suddenly they are laid waste, completely swept away by terrors!

⁵They saw and were astounded; they fled in terror.

⁶Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.

³Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.

⁴My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight I desired has turned to horror.

⁶He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will reveal Myself to him in a vision; I will speak to him in a dream.

³⁷So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.

⁹Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and shattered their bars. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and even her prophets find no vision from the Lord.

²¹He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the Lord by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

¹In the seventh year, on the tenth day of the fifth month, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down before me.

²Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

³And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

¹⁶One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl with a spirit of divination, who earned a large income for her masters by fortune-telling.

¹¹Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.

¹³So 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,

¹⁰who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

³For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

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

²⁰To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

¹³So 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,

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

³⁰And 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.

²⁹And 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.

²²Josiah, 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.

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

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

³Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

⁷When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and asked, “Am I God, killing and giving life, that this man expects me to cure a leper? Surely you can see that he is seeking a quarrel with me!”

¹³If I had jeopardized my own life—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me.”

¹¹“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the Lord your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”

⁶Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death.”

²³And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”

⁵“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

⁷You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

⁷²And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man!”

³Now by this time Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the mediums and spiritists from the land.

⁵But the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”

²⁸You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

⁶I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’

⁷But like mortals you will die, and like rulers you will fall.”

¹⁶He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.

³⁴Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’?

³⁵If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken—

²⁷As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.

⁸After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed facedown in reverence

¹³Elisha also picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah, and he went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.

¹⁴Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.

⁸And Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the waters, which parted to the right and to the left, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

²³In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side.

²⁴So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’

⁶He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

¹²So Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul.

¹²Even if they raise their children, I will bereave them of each one. Yes, woe be to them when I turn away from them!

¹⁴The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.

¹⁷Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the Lord your God when He led you in the way?

¹⁸Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

²⁷He answered, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or the winepress?”

²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A song. God arises. His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee His presence.

²As smoke is blown away, You will drive them out; as wax melts before the fire, the wicked will perish in the presence of God.

²⁴And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.

⁵The Lord is like an enemy; He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation for the Daughter of Judah.

³¹So may all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But may those who love You shine like the sun at its brightest.” And the land had rest for forty years.

²⁷As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore.

²⁸So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor who is better than you.

²⁰Now I know for sure that you will be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

¹³“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that the Lord your God gave you; if you had, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

¹⁴But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the Lord.”

⁴The Lord has made everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.

⁴²And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”

⁹Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.

¹⁰Cursed is the one who is remiss in doing the work of the Lord, and cursed is he who withholds his sword from bloodshed.

¹³So 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,

⁹So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.

²⁰“But I did obey the Lord,” Saul replied. “I went on the mission that the Lord gave me. I brought back Agag king of Amalek and devoted the Amalekites to destruction.

⁹“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

¹⁰At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

¹⁸Behold, at this time tomorrow I will rain down the worst hail that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded until now.

¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’”

¹⁷And in the seventh month of that very year, the prophet Hananiah died.

²⁸But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”

²⁵But if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

²The Philistines hotly pursued Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.

²⁰A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

²¹Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

²¹You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

²²Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:

²“How you have helped the powerless and saved the arm that is feeble!

⁵When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently.

³⁷In the morning when Nabal was sober, his wife told him about these events, and his heart failed within him, and he became like a stone.

³When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the Lord delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”

⁵He took his life in his hands when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced, so why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”

¹⁴Why do I put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands?

⁴So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.

²⁰Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

¹³Naaman’s servants, however, approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’?”

⁸One day Elisha went to Shunem, and a prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to have a meal. So whenever he would pass by, he would stop there to eat.

²³So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate.

⁷Meanwhile, Abraham ran to the herd, selected a tender and choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.

⁸Then Abraham brought curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and he set them before the men and stood by them under the tree as they ate.