Finally, the woman said, “Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?” “Call up Samuel,” Saul replied.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up to you?” He said, “Bring Samuel up for me.”
- KJV Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
- BSB “Whom shall I bring up for you?” the woman asked. “Bring up Samuel,” he replied.
- NKJV Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
- NASB Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The woman asks whom to summon, and Saul names Samuel. He seeks counsel from the prophet he had ignored in life.
Overview
Saul requests that Samuel, his deceased prophetic mentor, be brought up. The choice is poignant, for Saul had often resisted Samuel's words while the prophet lived. Now in desperation he seeks the very voice he had disobeyed, but it will bring only judgment, not relief.
Cross-references & the web
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 28:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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