New King James Version
1 Samuel 28:8
8So 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.”
1 Samuel 28:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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 International Version (NIV)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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)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."
- New Living Translation (NLT)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?”
Context of 1 Samuel 28:8
6And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets. 7Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.” 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.” 9Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?” 10And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
Read all of 1 Samuel 281 Samuel 28:8 word by word
וַיִּתְחַפֵּ֣שׂ שָׁא֗וּל וַיִּלְבַּשׁ֙ בְּגָדִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ ה֗וּא וּשְׁנֵ֤י אֲנָשִׁים֙ עִמּ֔וֹ וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ אֶל־הָאִשָּׁ֖ה לָ֑יְלָה וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קָֽסֳמִי נָ֥א לִי֙ בָּא֔וֹב וְהַ֣עֲלִי לִ֔י אֵ֥ת אֲשֶׁר־אֹמַ֖ר אֵלָֽיִךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- disguisedחָפַשׂchâphaώ · to searchH2664
- himself, and put onלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
- otherאַחֵר'achêr · anotherH312
- raimentבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- and he wentיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- and twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- with him, and they cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- by nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- and he saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- I pray thee, divineקָסַםqâsam · to divineH7080
- unto me by the familiar spiritאוֹב'ôb · mediumH178
- upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: establishH5927
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 28:8
- 1 Kings 14:2And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people.
- 1 Kings 22:30And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
- Job 24:13“There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
- Jeremiah 23:24Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
- John 3:19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
- Deuteronomy 18:11or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
- 1 Chronicles 10:13So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.
- Isaiah 8:19And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?
- 1 Samuel 28:15Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 28:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Saul disguised himself - That he might not be known by the woman, lest she, being terrified, should refuse to use her art.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Divine - Compare to 1 Samuel 6:2, note; Numbers 23:23, note. Bring me him up - The art of the ventriloquist seems to have been always connected with necromancy. The Greeks had necromancers who called up departed spirits to give answers to those who consulted them.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-19Verses 7-19 When we go from the plain path of duty, every thing draws us further aside, and increases our perplexity and temptation. Saul desires the woman to bring one from the dead, with whom he wished to speak; this was expressly forbidden, De 18:11. All real or pretended witchcraft or conjuration, is a malicious or an ignorant attempt to gain knowledge or help from some creature, when it cannot be had from the Lord in the path of duty. While Samuel…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-14Saul consulted the dead, a practice forbidden by God’s law (see Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:9–11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-87-8. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit--From the energetic measures which he himself had taken for extirpating the dealers in magical arts (the profession having been declared a capital offense), his most attached courtiers might have had reason to doubt the possibility of gratifying their master's wish. Anxious inquiries, however, led to the discovery of a woman living very secluded in the neighborhood, who had…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 28:8
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries