1 Samuel 28:15
ESV
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do."
NIV
Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" "I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
NASB
And Samuel said to Saul, 'Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' Saul replied, 'I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.'
CSB
"Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Samuel asked Saul. "I’m in serious trouble," replied Saul. "The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He doesn’t answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do."
NLT
Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?' Samuel asked Saul. 'Because I am in deep trouble,' Saul replied. 'The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.'
KJV
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
NKJV
Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”
What does 1 Samuel 28:15 mean?
Commentators speculate over this and the following verses. At issue is the question of whether this was literally Samuel—the actual spirit of the dead prophet—or a demonic apparition imitating him. Perhaps the medium fooled clients by pretending to speak for their dead relatives. This type of fraud still happens today. Or maybe she sometimes succeeds in presenting murky, demonic representatives of the afterlife. We don't know. All we can be sure of is that God allows this incident for His own purposes.The spirit speaks words echoed by fictional spirits of the dead in later years: why have you disturbed me? The sense is that Samuel was resting in the afterlife. The Israelites of the Old Testament understood that the spirits of those who died went to a place of the dead called sheol where they remained until some undetermined future moment. It's evident Samuel doesn't want to be here.
Saul describes why he has gone to such God-defying lengths to contact Samuel. He needs someone to tell him what to do. His distress is genuine. The Philistine army vastly outmatches the Israelites. God will not answer any of his attempts to seek help or revelation. Saul truly feels lost and alone and cut off, and he is desperate for Samuel to give him any answer, at all (1 Samuel 28:5.
Samuel reminds him why God has cut him off: Saul consistently refused to follow God's instructions in wartime. He let his fear of the enemy, and his own men, influence his actions (1 Samuel 13:8–14; 15:10–35). Saul knows this. David will be king. In fact, Saul and his sons will die tomorrow (1 Samuel 28:14–19).
