God’s Word Translation
1 Samuel 28:6
6He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t answer him through dreams, the Urim, or prophets.
1 Samuel 28:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
- New International Version (NIV)He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.
Context of 1 Samuel 28:6
4The Philistines assembled and camped in Shunem. Saul also assembled the whole Israelite army, and they camped at Gilboa. 5When Saul looked at the Philistine army, he was very afraid—terrified. He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord didn’t answer him through dreams, the Urim, or prophets. 7Saul told his officers, “Find me a woman who conjures up the dead. Then I’ll go to her and ask for her services.” His officers told him, “There is a woman at Endor who conjures up the dead.” 8After 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.”
Read all of 1 Samuel 281 Samuel 28:6 word by word
וַיִּשְׁאַ֤ל שָׁאוּל֙ בַּֽיהוָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א עָנָ֖הוּ יְהוָ֑ה גַּ֧ם בַּחֲלֹמ֛וֹת גַּ֥ם בָּאוּרִ֖ים גַּ֥ם בַּנְּבִיאִֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 28:6
- 1 Samuel 14:37Then Saul asked God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?” But he received no answer that day.
- 1 Chronicles 10:14He didn’t request information from the Lord. So the Lord killed him and turned the kingship over to David, Jesse’s son.
- Proverbs 1:27when panic strikes you like a violent storm, when calamity strikes you like a wind storm, when trouble and anguish come to you.
- Lamentations 2:9“⌞Zion’s⌟ gates have sunk into the ground. ⌞The Lord⌟ destroyed and shattered the bars across its ⌞gates⌟. Its king and influential people are ⌞scattered⌟ among the nations. There is no longer any instruction ⌞from Moses’ Teachings⌟. Its prophets can find no visions from the Lord.
- Ezekiel 20:1On the tenth day of the fifth month in the seventh year, some of the leaders of Israel came to ask for the Lord’s help. They sat in front of me.
- John 9:31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants.
- James 4:3When you pray for things, you don’t get them because you want them for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
- Genesis 28:12He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of God going up and coming down on it.
- Genesis 46:2God spoke to Israel in a vision that night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” “Here I am,” he answered.
- Numbers 12:6He said, “Listen to my words: When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I make myself known to them in visions or speak to them in dreams.
- Job 33:14“God speaks in one way, even in two ways without people noticing it:
- Jeremiah 23:28The prophet who has a dream should tell his dream. However, the person who has my word should honestly speak my word. What does grain have to do with straw?” asks the Lord.
- Matthew 1:20Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
- Exodus 28:20In the fourth row put beryl, onyx, and gray quartz. Mount them in gold settings.
- Numbers 27:21He will stand in front of the priest Eleazar, who will use the Urim to make decisions in the Lord’s presence. At his command Joshua and the whole community of Israel will go into battle. And at his command they will return.”
- Deuteronomy 33:8About the tribe of Levi he said, “Your Thummim and Urim belong to your faithful people. You tested your people at Massah. You quarreled with them at the oasis of Meribah.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 28:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The Lord answered him not - He used the three methods by which supernatural intelligence was ordinarily given: - Dreams. - The person prayed for instruction; and begged that God would answer by a significant dream. Urim. - This was a kind of oracular answer given to the high priest when clothed with the ephod, on which were the Urim and Thummim. How these communicated the answer, is not well known. 3. Prophets. - Who were requested by the party concerned…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6When Saul inquired of the Lord - It is said 1 Chronicles 10:14 that one reason why the Lord killed Saul, and gave his kingdom to David, was because he inquired not of the Lord. The explanation of this apparent discrepancy is to be found in the fact that inquiring of the familiar spirit was positively antagonistic to inquiring of the Lord. That Saul received no answer - when he “inquired of the Lord” by dreams, which was an immediate revelation to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6did not answer him: Earlier, Saul had asked the Lord for guidance using sacred lots, but the results were unclear (1 Samuel 14:36–42). God's silence was a sign of his judgment (1 Samuel 14:37; Lamentations 2:9; Ezekiel 7:26; Amos 8:11–12; Micah 3:6–7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-61Sa 28:1-6. Achish's Confidence in David. 1. The Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel--The death of Samuel, the general dissatisfaction with Saul, and the absence of David, instigated the cupidity of those restless enemies of Israel. Achish said to David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle--This was evidently to try him. Achish, however, seems to have thought he had gained the confidence…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 28:6
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 28
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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