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THE MESSAGE

1 Samuel 28:15

Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by calling me up?" "Because I'm in deep trouble," said Saul. "The Philistines are making war against me and God has deserted me—he doesn't answer me any more, either by prophet or by dream. And so I'm calling on you to tell me what to do."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Apostasy;   En-Dor;   Familiar Spirits;   Holy Spirit;   Necromancy;   Reprobacy;   Samuel;   Saul;   Sorcery;   Witchcraft;   Thompson Chain Reference - Comfort-Misery;   Misery;   Sin;   Sin's;   Sinners;   Wicked, the;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Idolatry;   Prayer, Answers to;   Prophets;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Endor;   Soul;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Samuel;   Saul, king of israel;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Descent into Hell (Hades);   Magic;   Sheol;   Word;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Magic;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Divination;   Saul;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Divination and Magic;   Medium;   Samuel, Books of;   Urim and Thummim;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Death;   Dreams;   En-Dor;   Eschatology;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Descent into Hades;   Dream (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Magic;   Saul;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Intercession;   Samuel;   Samuel, Books of;   Sheol;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abraham Ha-Levi ben Eliezer Ha-Zaḳen;   Dreams;   Endor, the Witch of;   Samuel;  

Devotionals:

- Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for February 9;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Samuel asked Saul.
Hebrew Names Version
Shemu'el said to Sha'ul, Why have you disquieted me, to bring me up? Sha'ul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Pelishtim make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.
King James Version
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Lexham English Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul said, "I am in distress! For the Philistines are about to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not by the prophets or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do."
English Standard Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do."
New Century Version
Samuel asked Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul said, "I am greatly troubled. The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has left me. He won't answer me anymore, either by prophets or in dreams. That's why I called for you. Tell me what to do."
New English Translation
Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul replied, "I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me—not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do."
Amplified Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are making war against me, and God has left me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you to make known to me what I should do."
New American Standard Bible
And Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul replied, "I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me vp? Then Saul answered, I am in great distresse: for the Philistims make warre against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by Prophetes, neither by dreames: therefore I haue called thee, that thou mayest tell me, what I shall doe.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do."
Contemporary English Version
"Why are you bothering me by bringing me up like this?" Samuel asked. "I'm terribly worried," Saul answered. "The Philistines are about to attack me. God has turned his back on me and won't answer any more by prophets or by dreams. What should I do?"
Complete Jewish Bible
Sh'mu'el asked Sha'ul, "Why have you disturbed me and brought me up?" Sha'ul answered, "I'm very upset; because the P'lishtim are making war against me; and God has left me and doesn't answer me any more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. This is why I've called you, so that you can let me know what to do."
Darby Translation
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul said, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known to me what I shall do.
Easy-to-Read Version
Samuel said to Saul, "Why did you bother me? Why did you bring me up?" Saul answered, "I am in trouble! The Philistines have come to fight me, and God has left me. God won't answer me anymore. He won't use prophets or dreams to answer me, so I called you. I want you to tell me what to do."
George Lamsa Translation
And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines are making war against me, and God has departed from me, and answers me no more although I have inquired by the prophets and also by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may tell me what I shall do.
Good News Translation
Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me? Why did you make me come back?" Saul answered, "I am in great trouble! The Philistines are at war with me, and God has abandoned me. He doesn't answer me any more, either by prophets or by dreams. And so I have called you, for you to tell me what I must do."
Literal Translation
And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me, to bring me up. And Saul said, I am grievously distressed. And the Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned from me and has not answered me any more, either by the hand ofthe prophets, or by dreams. And I called for you to make known to me what I should do.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Samuel saide vnto Saul: Why hast thou disquyeted me, to cause me be broughte vp? Saul sayde: I am sore troubled, the Philistynes fighte against me, & God is departed frome, & geueth me no answere, nether by prophetes ner by dreames: therfore haue I called the, yt thou mightest shewe me, what I shal do.
American Standard Version
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Bible in Basic English
And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you made me come up, troubling my rest? And Saul in answer said, I am in great danger; for the Philistines are making war on me, and God has gone away from me and will no longer give me any answer, by the prophets or by dreams: so I have sent for you to make clear to me what I am to do.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
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.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Samuel said to Saul: 'Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?' And Saul answered: 'I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.'
King James Version (1611)
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me vp? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistins make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by Prophets, nor by dreames: therefore I haue called thee, that thou mayst make knowen vnto me, what I shall doe.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Samuel said, Why hast thou troubled me, that I should come up? And Saul said, I am greatly distressed, and the Philistines war against me, and God has departed from me, and no longer hearkens to me either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams: and now I have called thee to tell me what I shall do.
English Revised Version
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" "I am deeply distressed," replied Saul. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by the prophets or dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli Samuel seide to Saul, Whi hast thou disesid me, that Y schulde be reisid? And Saul seide, Y am constreyned greetli; for Filisteis fiyten ayens me, and God yede awei fro me, and he nolde here me, nether bi the hond of profetis, nether bi dremes; therfor Y clepide thee, that thou schuldist schewe to me what Y schal do.
Young's Literal Translation
And Samuel saith unto Saul, `Why hast thou troubled me, to bring me up?' And Saul saith, `I have great distress, and the Philistines are fighting against me, God hath turned aside from me, and hath not answered me any more, either by the hand of the prophets, or by dreams; and I call for thee to let me know what I do.'
Update Bible Version
And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am very distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me, and has not answered me anymore, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am grievously distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God hath departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known to me what I shall do.
World English Bible
Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disquieted me, to bring me up? Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.
New King James Version
Now 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."
New Living Translation
"Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?" Samuel asked Saul. "Because I am in deep trouble," Saul replied. "The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won't reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do."
New Life Bible
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you troubled my rest by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am very troubled. The Philistines are making war against me. And God has left me and answers me no more, by those who speak for Him or by dreams. So I have called you to tell me what I should do."
New Revised Standard
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have summoned you to tell me what I should do."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Samuel said unto Saul, Wherefore hast thou disquieted me, by bringing me up? And Saul said - I am in sore distress, for, the Philistines, are making war against me, and, God, hath turned away from me, and answereth me no more - either by means of the prophets, or by dreams, therefore have I even called for thee, to let me know, what I am to do.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Samuel said to Saul: Why hast thou disturbed my rest, that I should be brought up? And Saul said: I am in great distress: for the Philistines fight against me, and God is departed from me, and would not hear me, neither by the hand of prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayst shew me what I shall do.
Revised Standard Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul answered, "I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has departed from me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do."

Contextual Overview

15 Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by calling me up?" "Because I'm in deep trouble," said Saul. "The Philistines are making war against me and God has deserted me—he doesn't answer me any more, either by prophet or by dream. And so I'm calling on you to tell me what to do." 16"Why ask me?" said Samuel. " God has turned away from you and is now on the side of your neighbor. God has done exactly what he told you through me—ripped the kingdom right out of your hands and given it to your neighbor. It's because you did not obey God , refused to carry out his seething judgment on Amalek, that God does to you what he is doing today. Worse yet, God is turning Israel, along with you, over to the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And, yes, indeed, God is giving Israel's army up to the Philistines."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Why hast: 1 Samuel 28:8, 1 Samuel 28:11

I am sore: Proverbs 5:11-13, Proverbs 14:14, Jeremiah 2:17, Jeremiah 2:18

the Philistines: 1 Samuel 28:4

God: 1 Samuel 16:13, 1 Samuel 16:14, 1 Samuel 18:12, Judges 16:20, Psalms 51:11, Hosea 9:12, Matthew 25:41

answereth: 1 Samuel 28:6, 1 Samuel 23:2, 1 Samuel 23:4, 1 Samuel 23:9, 1 Samuel 23:10

prophets: Heb. the hand of prophets

therefore: Luke 16:23-26

Reciprocal: Judges 10:9 - distressed 1 Samuel 30:8 - he answered him 1 Samuel 31:1 - the Philistines Psalms 27:3 - war Jeremiah 21:2 - Inquire Amos 8:11 - but Micah 3:7 - no 2 Corinthians 4:8 - yet

Cross-References

Genesis 28:5
So Isaac sent Jacob off. He went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
Genesis 28:6
Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan Aram to get a wife there, and while blessing him commanded, "Don't marry a Canaanite woman," and that Jacob had obeyed his parents and gone to Paddan Aram. When Esau realized how deeply his father Isaac disliked the Canaanite women, he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son. This was in addition to the wives he already had.
Genesis 28:16
Jacob woke up from his sleep. He said, " God is in this place—truly. And I didn't even know it!" He was terrified. He whispered in awe, "Incredible. Wonderful. Holy. This is God's House. This is the Gate of Heaven."
Genesis 28:20
Jacob vowed a vow: "If God stands by me and protects me on this journey on which I'm setting out, keeps me in food and clothing, and brings me back in one piece to my father's house, this God will be my God. This stone that I have set up as a memorial pillar will mark this as a place where God lives. And everything you give me, I'll return a tenth to you."
Genesis 31:3
That's when God said to Jacob, "Go back home where you were born. I'll go with you."
Genesis 32:9
And then Jacob prayed, "God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, God who told me, ‘Go back to your parents' homeland and I'll treat you well.' I don't deserve all the love and loyalty you've shown me. When I left here and crossed the Jordan I only had the clothes on my back, and now look at me—two camps! Save me, please, from the violence of my brother, my angry brother! I'm afraid he'll come and attack us all, me, the mothers and the children. You yourself said, ‘I will treat you well; I'll make your descendants like the sands of the sea, far too many to count.'"
Genesis 39:2
As it turned out, God was with Joseph and things went very well with him. He ended up living in the home of his Egyptian master. His master recognized that God was with him, saw that God was working for good in everything he did. He became very fond of Joseph and made him his personal aide. He put him in charge of all his personal affairs, turning everything over to him. From that moment on, God blessed the home of the Egyptian—all because of Joseph. The blessing of God spread over everything he owned, at home and in the fields, and all Potiphar had to concern himself with was eating three meals a day. Joseph was a strikingly handsome man. As time went on, his master's wife became infatuated with Joseph and one day said, "Sleep with me." He wouldn't do it. He said to his master's wife, "Look, with me here, my master doesn't give a second thought to anything that goes on here—he's put me in charge of everything he owns. He treats me as an equal. The only thing he hasn't turned over to me is you. You're his wife, after all! How could I violate his trust and sin against God?" She pestered him day after day after day, but he stood his ground. He refused to go to bed with her. On one of these days he came to the house to do his work and none of the household servants happened to be there. She grabbed him by his cloak, saying, "Sleep with me!" He left his coat in her hand and ran out of the house. When she realized that he had left his coat in her hand and run outside, she called to her house servants: "Look—this Hebrew shows up and before you know it he's trying to seduce us. He tried to make love to me but I yelled as loud as I could. With all my yelling and screaming, he left his coat beside me here and ran outside." She kept his coat right there until his master came home. She told him the same story. She said, "The Hebrew slave, the one you brought to us, came after me and tried to use me for his plaything. When I yelled and screamed, he left his coat with me and ran outside." When his master heard his wife's story, telling him, "These are the things your slave did to me," he was furious. Joseph's master took him and threw him into the jail where the king's prisoners were locked up. But there in jail God was still with Joseph: He reached out in kindness to him; he put him on good terms with the head jailer. The head jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners—he ended up managing the whole operation. The head jailer gave Joseph free rein, never even checked on him, because God was with him; whatever he did God made sure it worked out for the best.
Genesis 48:21
Israel then said to Joseph, "I'm about to die. God be with you and give you safe passage back to the land of your fathers. As for me, I'm presenting you, as the first among your brothers, the ridge of land I took from Amorites with my sword and bow."
Exodus 3:12
"I'll be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain."
Judges 6:16
God said to him, "I'll be with you. Believe me, you'll defeat Midian as one man."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Samuel said to Saul, why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?.... This makes it a clear case that this was not the true Samuel; his soul was at rest in Abraham's bosom, in the state of bliss and happiness in heaven, and it was not in the power of men and devils to disquiet it; nor would he have talked of his being brought up, but rather of his coming down, had it been really he; much less would he have acknowledged that he was brought up by Saul, by means of a witch, and through the help of the devil:

and Saul answered, I am sore distressed; in mind, being in great straits and difficulties, pressed hard upon by men, and forsaken of God, as follows:

for the Philistines make war against me; so they had many times, and he had been victorious, and had no reason to be so much distressed, if that was all: but he adds,

and God is departed from me: and therefore he feared he should be left to fall into their hands; and that he had forsaken him he concluded from hence,

and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams:

:-; he makes no mention of Urim, either because they were not with him to inquire by, being carried away by Abiathar when he fled to David, 1 Samuel 23:9; or, as the Jews say h, through shame, he said nothing of the Urim before Samuel, as he took this appearance to be, because he had slain the priests at Nob, and because of this shame, they say, his sin was forgiven him:

therefore have I called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do; which was downright madness and folly to imagine, that since God had forsaken him, and would give him no answer, that a prophet of his should take his part; or when he could get no answer from a prophet of God on earth, that he could expect an agreeable one from one fetched down from heaven: one would be tempted to think that he himself believed it was the devil he was talking to, and whom he had called for under the name of Samuel, and expected to see; for from whom else could he expect advice, when he was forsaken of God, and his prophets?

h T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 12. 2.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 28:15. Why hast thou disquieted me — The complaint is not directed against the woman but against Saul. Indeed, her incantations had no influence in the business, and it does not appear that she had commenced her operations before the angels had prepared the way of the prophet, and before the prophet himself had made his appearance.

That thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. — In his former difficulties, and when pressed by his enemies, he was in the habit of consulting Samuel; and now he applies to him as his former preceptor. God, he knew, might answer by such a man as Samuel, when he would answer by no other means.


 
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