3. After Samuel died, all the Israelites mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his hometown. Saul had removed the mediums and fortunetellers from Israel.
4. The Philistines prepared for war. They came to Shunem and made their camp at that place. Saul gathered all the Israelites together and made his camp at Gilboa.
5. Saul saw the Philistine army, and he was afraid. His heart pounded with fear.
6. He prayed to the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him. God did not talk to Saul in dreams. God did not use the Urim to give him an answer, and God did not use prophets to speak to Saul.
7. Finally, Saul said to his officers, “Find me a woman who is a medium. Then I can go ask her what will happen.” His officers answered, “There is a medium at Endor.”
8. That night, Saul put on different clothes so that no one would know who he was. Then Saul and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “I want you to bring up a ghost who can tell me what will happen in the future. You must call for the ghost of the person I name.”
9. But the woman said to him, “You know that Saul forced all the mediums and fortunetellers to leave the land of Israel. You are trying to trap me and kill me.”
10. Saul used the Lord’S name to make a promise to the woman. He said, “As surely as the Lord lives, you won’t be punished for doing this.”