New Living Translation
1 Samuel 28:6
6He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the 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 set up their camp at Shunem, and Saul gathered all the army of Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear. He asked the Lord what he should do, but the Lord refused to answer him, either by dreams or by sacred lots or by the prophets. 7Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.” 8So 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?”
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 14:37So Saul asked God, “Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But God made no reply that day.
- 1 Chronicles 10:14instead of asking the Lord for guidance. So the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
- Proverbs 1:27when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.
- Lamentations 2:9Jerusalem’s gates have sunk into the ground. He has smashed their locks and bars. Her kings and princes have been exiled to distant lands; her law has ceased to exist. Her prophets receive no more visions from the Lord.
- Ezekiel 20:1On August 14, during the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, some of the leaders of Israel came to request a message from the Lord. They sat down in front of me to wait for his reply.
- John 9:31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.
- James 4:3And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
- Genesis 28:12As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.
- Genesis 46:2During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called. “Here I am,” Jacob replied.
- Numbers 12:6And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say: “If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams.
- Job 33:14For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it.
- Jeremiah 23:28“Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!
- Matthew 1:20As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
- Exodus 28:20The fourth row will contain a blue-green beryl, an onyx, and a green jasper. All these stones will be set in gold filigree.
- Numbers 27:21When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.”
- Deuteronomy 33:8Moses said this about the tribe of Levi: “O Lord, you have given your Thummim and Urim—the sacred lots— to your faithful servants the Levites. You put them to the test at Massah and struggled with them at the waters 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
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