1 Samuel 28:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines."

NIV: The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines."

NASB: Furthermore, the Lord will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the Lord will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!'

CSB: The Lord will also hand Israel over to the Philistines along with you. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the Lord will hand Israel’s army over to the Philistines."

NLT: What’s more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The Lord will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat.'

KJV: Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

NKJV: Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

Saul will go into battle the next day against a far larger and better-equipped Philistine army. He's afraid. God won't respond no matter how he asks. He's resorted to seeking out a medium—a profession he'd eradicated—to call up the spirit of Samuel. But Saul doesn't get the message he wants (1 Samuel 28:3–15).

First, Samuel reminds him why God isn't answering. God promised to reject Saul after he rebelled too many times. God removed His Spirit from Saul and gave it to David, who will take Saul's place as king (1 Samuel 28:16–18).

Now, Samuel tells Saul that the moment of God's earthly judgment will take place on the very next day. Israel will fall to the massive Philistine army, and Saul and his sons will be killed and join Samuel in death. The name for the place of the dead in the Old Testament was sheol, which described a murky place of rest that seemed to be neither a punishment nor a reward, but a holding place until future things happened. For the reader, this is the revelation that David's close friend Jonathan will soon die, as well.

This news overwhelms Saul. He hasn't eaten, and his heart and body collapse. The medium had been afraid that Saul would kill her (1 Samuel 28:9), but now she's afraid she's killed the king. She forces him to eat a bit of bread while she kills and cooks the fattened calf and makes fresh bread. With the kindness of a witch, Saul has enough energy to meet his death (1 Samuel 28:20–25).

First Samuel 28:15–19 brings bad news to King Saul. A large Philistine army has faced off against the Israelites. Saul needs guidance, but God is silent. He visits a medium, and she's shocked when Samuel's spirit appears (1 Samuel 28:1–14). Samuel repeats his former message: because of Saul's disobedience, God will give the crown to another. But then he adds a warning: Saul will die the next day, along with his sons. Saul, who has been fasting, will collapse. The woman and his servants will get him to eat, and he will leave to face his fate (1 Samuel 28:20–25).

Israelites and the Philistines prepare for war. The Philistine king Achish demands that David fight with him against Israel. Terrified at the amassed Philistine army and unable to reach the Lord for help, Saul finds a medium to contact Samuel's spirit. Samuel repeats that the Lord has taken the kingdom from Saul and adds that Saul and his sons will fall, along with Israel, the next day. The medium serves Saul and his men a large meal, and the men leave under the cover of darkness. David is saved from having to fight his own people, but Saul and his sons do die. David will soon be king (1 Samuel 29; 31).

David and his men have escaped Saul (1 Samuel 27) and begun been fighting Israel's enemies under the protection of the Philistine king Achish (1 Samuel 28). Now, Achish wants David to fight Israel with him. Saul sees the Philistine army and is terrified. He finds a medium to call up Samuel's spirit. Samuel tells Saul that he, his sons, and Israel will fall. Fortunately, the other Philistine kings refuse to fight with David, and Achish sends him home. But Saul's sons are killed. Mortally wounded, Saul will take his own life (1 Samuel 29; 31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.