But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a divine being coming up from the earth.”
Parallel translations
- WEB The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.”
- KJV And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
- BSB “Do not be afraid,” the king replied. “What do you see?” “I see a god coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered.
- NKJV And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”
- NLT “Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What do you see?” “I see a god coming up out of the earth,” she said.
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
Saul calms the woman and asks what she sees; she describes a divine-looking figure rising from the earth. Her words confirm a genuinely awesome apparition.
Overview
Saul urges the frightened woman to describe her vision, and she reports seeing a 'god' or spirit coming up from the ground. The language conveys something supernatural and weighty, beyond ordinary trickery. The scene moves toward Samuel's direct address, in which God's judgment on Saul will be declared.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Exod 4:16He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.
- Exod 22:28“You shall not blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.
- Ps 82:6–7I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.
- John 10:34–35Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 28:13 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.