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¹ And in those dayes, the Philistines gathered theyr hoast together to warre, to fight with Israel: And Achis sayd to Dauid, Be sure thou shalt go out with me to battayle, thou and the men that are with thee.² And Dauid sayde to Achis: Surelie thou shalt knowe what thy seruaunt can do. And Achis said to Dauid: Then I will make thee keper of my head for euer.³ Samuel was then dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Rama his owne citie: And Saul had put away the sorcerers, and the soothsayers out of the land.⁴ And the Philistines gathered together, and came, and pytched in Sunem: And Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pytched in Gilboa.⁵ And when Saul sawe the hoast of the Philistines, he was afrayde, & his heart was sore astonied.⁶ And when Saul asked councell of the Lorde, the Lorde aunswered him not, neither by dreames, nor by Urim, nor yet by prophetes.

⁷ Then sayd Saul vnto his seruautes: Seeke me a woman that hath a familier spirite, that I may go to her, and aske of her. And his seruauntes sayd to him: Beholde, there is a woman that hath a familier spirite at Endor.⁸ And Saul chaunged him selfe, and put on other rayment, and then went he & two men with him, and they came to the woman by nyght, and he sayde: I pray thee coniecture vnto me by the familier spirite, & bring me him vp whom I shall name vnto thee.⁹ And the woman saide vnto him: Beholde, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath destroyed the sorcerers, and the soothsayers out of the land: Wherfore then layest thou a snare for my soule, to cause me to die?¹⁰ And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying: As the Lorde lyueth, there shall no harme come to thee for this thyng.¹¹ Then saide the woman: Whom shall I fetch vp vnto thee? He aunswered: Bring me vp Samuel.¹² When the woman sawe Samuel, she cryed with a loude voyce, and spake to Saul, saying: Why hast thou deceaued me? for thou art Saul.¹³ And the king saide vnto her: Be not afrayd: What sawest thou? The woman saide vnto Saul: I sawe gods ascending vp out of the earth.¹⁴ He saide vnto her againe: What fashion is he of? She aunswered: There cometh vp an olde man with a mantel vpon him. And Saul perceaued that it was Samuel, and he stowped with his face to the ground, and bowed him selfe.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou vnquieted me, to make me be brought vp? Saul aunswered: I am sore encumbred, for ye Philistines make warre against me, and God is departed from me, and aunswereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreames: And therefore I haue called thee, that thou mayest tell me what I shall do.¹⁶ Then saide Samuel: Wherefore doest thou aske of me, while the Lord is gone from thee, and is become thyne enemie?¹⁷ Trulie the Lord hath done to him, euen as he spake by my hand: For the Lorde hath rent the kingdome out of thyne hand, and geuen it thy neyghbour Dauid.¹⁸ Because thou obeyedst not the voyce of the Lorde, nor executedst his fierce wrath vpon the Amalekites, therefore hath the Lord done this vnto thee this day.¹⁹ And moreouer, the Lord will deliuer Israel with thee into the handes of the Philistines: To morrowe shalt thou and thy sonnes be with me, and the Lorde shall geue the hoast of Israel into the handes of the Philistines.

²⁰ Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afrayde because of the wordes of Samuel. And there was no strength in him: for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.²¹ And the woman came vnto Saul, & sawe that he was sore troubled, & sayde vnto him: See, thyne handmayde hath obeyed thy voyce, & haue put my soule in my hand, and haue hearkened vnto thy wordes which thou sayedst vnto me.²² Nowe therefore I pray thee hearken thou also vnto the voyce of thyne handmayde, and let me set a morsell of bread before thee, that thou mayest eate, and get thee strength, & then go on thy iourney.²³ He refused, and sayde: I will not eate. But his seruauntes and the woman together compelled him, and he hearkened vnto their voyce: And so he arose from the earth, and sat on a bed.²⁴ The woman had a fat calfe in the house, and she hasted and killed it, and tooke floure and kneded it, and did bake vnleauened bread thereof:²⁵ And brought them before Saul, and before his seruauntes: And when they had eaten, they stoode vp, & went away the same night.