Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, April 9th, 2026
Thursday in Easter Week
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Literal Standard Version

1 Samuel 28:12

And the woman sees Samuel, and cries with a loud voice, and the woman speaks to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you [are] Saul!"

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - En-Dor;   Familiar Spirits;   Miracles;   Necromancy;   Samuel;   Saul;   Sorcery;   Witchcraft;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Divination;   Miracles through Evil Agents;  

Dictionaries:

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

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Betray;   Communion with Demons;   En-Dor, Witch of;   Intercession;   Samuel;   Samuel, Books of;   Sheol;   Woman;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Endor, the Witch of;   Samuel;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, and then she asked Saul, “Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!”
Hebrew Names Version
When the woman saw Shemu'el, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Sha'ul, saying, Why have you deceived me? for you are Sha'ul.
King James Version
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Lexham English Bible
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, "Why did you deceive me? You are Saul!"
English Standard Version
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul."
New Century Version
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. She said, "Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!"
New English Translation
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. The woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
Amplified Bible
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed with a loud voice; and she said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
New American Standard Bible
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!"
Geneva Bible (1587)
And when the woman sawe Samuel, she cryed with a loude voyce, and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceiued me? for thou art Saul.
Legacy Standard Bible
And the woman saw Samuel and cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul."
Contemporary English Version
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. Then she turned to Saul and said, "You've tricked me! You're the king!"
Complete Jewish Bible
When the woman saw Sh'mu'el, she let out a shriek. Then the woman said to Sha'ul, "Why have you deceived me? You yourself are Sha'ul!"
Darby Translation
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? Even thou art Saul.
Easy-to-Read Version
And it happened—the woman saw Samuel and screamed. She said to Saul, "You tricked me! You are Saul."
George Lamsa Translation
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and she said to Saul, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.
Good News Translation
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed and said to Saul, "Why have you tricked me? You are King Saul!"
Literal Translation
And the woman saw Samuel, and cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now whan ye woman sawe Samuel, she cryed loude, and sayde vnto Saul: Wherfore hast thou begyled me? Thou art Saul.
American Standard Version
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Bible in Basic English
And the woman saw that it was Saul, and she gave a loud cry, and said to Saul, Why have you made use of deceit? for you are Saul.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
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.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying: 'Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.'
King James Version (1611)
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a lowd voyce; and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceiued me? for thou art Saul.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the woman saw Samuel, and cried out with a loud voice: and the woman said to Saul, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
English Revised Version
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Berean Standard Bible
But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli whanne the womman hadde seyn Samuel, sche criede with greet vois, and seide to Saul, Whi hast thou disseyued me? for thou art Saul.
Young's Literal Translation
And the woman seeth Samuel, and crieth with a loud voice, and the woman speaketh unto Saul, saying, `Why hast thou deceived me -- and thou Saul?'
Update Bible Version
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? for you are Saul.
Webster's Bible Translation
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou [art] Saul.
World English Bible
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? for you are Saul.
New King James Version
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!"
New Living Translation
When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, "You've deceived me! You are Saul!"
New Life Bible
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. She said to Saul, "Why have you fooled me? For you are Saul!"
New Revised Standard
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when the woman saw Samuel, she made outcry with a loud voice, - and the woman spake unto Saul, saying - Wherefore hast thou deceived me, thou thyself being Saul?
Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and said to Saul: Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Revised Standard Version
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul."
THE MESSAGE
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly to Saul, "Why did you lie to me? You're Saul!"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul."

Contextual Overview

7And Saul says to his servants, "Seek a woman for me possessing a familiar spirit, and I go to her, and inquire of her"; and his servants say to him, "Behold, a woman possessing a familiar spirit [is] in En-dor." 8And Saul disguises himself and puts on other garments, and goes, he and two of the men with him, and they come to the woman by night, and he says, "Please divine to me by the familiar spirit, and cause him whom I say to you to come up to me." 9And the woman says to him, "Behold, you have known that which Saul has done, that he has cut off those having familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land; and why are you laying a snare for my soul—to put me to death?" 10And Saul swears to her by YHWH, saying, "YHWH lives, punishment does not meet you for this thing." 11And the woman says, "Whom do I bring up to you?" And he says, "Bring up Samuel to me." 12And the woman sees Samuel, and cries with a loud voice, and the woman speaks to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you [are] Saul!"13And the king says to her, "Do not fear; for what have you seen?" And the woman says to Saul, "I have seen gods coming up out of the earth." 14And he says to her, "What [is] his form?" And she says, "An aged man is coming up, and he [is] covered with an upper robe"; and Saul knows that he [is] Samuel, and bows—face to her earth—and pays respect.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou art Saul: 1 Samuel 28:3, 1 Kings 14:5

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 19:17 - Why hast Matthew 14:26 - they were

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After these things the word of YHWH has been to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I [am] a shield to you, your reward [is] exceedingly great."
Genesis 15:12
And the sun is about to go in, and deep sleep has fallen on Abram, and behold, a terror of great darkness is falling on him;
Genesis 20:3
And God comes to Abimelech in a dream of the night and says to him, "Behold, you [are] a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken—and she married to a husband."
Genesis 28:1
And Isaac calls to Jacob, and blesses him, and commands him, and says to him, "You must not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan;
Genesis 28:2
rise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel, and take for yourself a wife from there, from the daughters of your mother's brother Laban;
Genesis 28:5
And Isaac sends Jacob away, and he goes to Padan-Aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau.
Genesis 28:6
And Esau sees that Isaac has blessed Jacob, and has sent him to Padan-Aram to take to himself from there a wife—in his blessing him that he lays a charge on him, saying, You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan—
Genesis 28:7
that Jacob listens to his father and to his mother, and goes to Padan-Aram—
Genesis 28:11
and he touches at a [certain] place, and lodges there, for the sun has gone in, and he takes of the stones of the place, and makes [them] his pillows, and lies down in that place.
Genesis 28:12
And he dreams, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and its head is touching the heavens; and behold, messengers of God are going up and coming down by it;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when the woman saw Samuel,.... The appearance of him whom she took for Samuel; no mention is made of the methods she used to raise him, to check the curiosity of such as might be desirous to know them, and to prevent the imitation of them; though some think that Samuel, or the apparition, was seen before she made use of any, which surprised her; but this seems not so probable, and is only observed for the sake of an hypothesis; though it must be owned the word "when" is not in the text:

she cried with a loud voice; not so much frightened at what she saw, and the manner of his appearing, and as thinking the resurrection of the dead was come, as say the Jews b, as what she feared would be the consequence to her, even death by the hand of Saul; for though he had sworn no punishment should come upon her, she might begin to fear she was not safe, perceiving who he was:

and the woman spake to Saul, saying, why hast thou deceived me? for thou [art] Saul: how she knew this is a question; it could not be by the appearance of Samuel, for it was Samuel she was to bring up; unless with Ben Gersom it can be thought that she understood him of another man, whose name was Samuel, and not Samuel the prophet; and so when she saw him, concluded he was Saul, because of the intimacy between them in his lifetime; but this is not probable, nor does it appear that she as yet knew who it was, but rather she was told by her familiar spirit, or by the apparition, so Josephus c, that it was Saul that inquired of her; or she guessed at it by some gesture of the apparition to Saul, by way of homage and honour; and so Abarbinel thinks that the clause in

1 Samuel 28:14 respects not Saul's bowing to Samuel, but Samuel bowing to Saul; and so by this means the woman knew who he was.

b Pirke Eliezer, c. 33. c Antiqu. l. 6. c. 14. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It is manifest both that the apparition of Samuel was real, and also that the woman was utterly unprepared for it.

Why hast thou deceived me ... - She perhaps inferred that Samuel would have answered the call of none inferior to the king. Or it may be the presence of an inhabitant of the world of spirits brought a sudden illumination to her mind.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 28:12. When the woman saw Samuel — That Samuel did appear on this occasion, is most evident from the text; nor can this be denied from any legitimate mode of interpretation: and it is as evident that he was neither raised by the power of the devil nor the incantations of the witch, for the appearances which took place at this time were such as she was wholly unacquainted with. Her familiar did not appear; and from the confused description she gives, it is fully evident that she was both surprised and alarmed at what she saw, being so widely different from what she expected to see.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile