1 Samuel 28:17
ESV
The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.
NIV
The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David.
NASB
And the Lord has done just as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.
CSB
The Lord has done exactly what he said through me: The Lord has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David.
NLT
The Lord has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David.
KJV
And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
NKJV
And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.
What does 1 Samuel 28:17 mean?
The Israelites are about to meet a far superior Philistine force. Saul has gone to extraordinary lengths to contact the prophet Samuel, his mentor and connection to the Lord. The king has broken both the law of Moses (Deuteronomy 18:9–12) and his own royal decrees (1 Samuel 28:3) to hire a medium who specializes in contacting spirits of the dead (1 Samuel 28:11–14).When God allows Samuel—or an imitating spirit—to communicate with Saul from beyond the grave, the king's question amounts to this: God won't reveal Himself to me anymore, so tell me what to do about the Philistines (1 Samuel 28:15).
Samuel's response is that the Lord has done exactly what Saul was told many years ago. God is not responding to Saul because God has already taken the kingdom from Saul. It's been given to Saul's neighbor to rule as king. When Samuel first told Saul this would happen in 1 Samuel 15:28, he didn't mention the name of that neighbor. Now he does: David. But Saul already knew that (1 Samuel 28:20).
The spirit specifically tells Saul that God is doing this, not the Philistines and not David. Twice, David has had a chance to kill Saul and refused (1 Samuel 24:3–7; 26:7–12). Several times, God protected David and his men from battling Saul and his army. He's doing it again at this moment. David is under the protection of a Philistine king who has brought him to this battle (1 Samuel 28:1–2).
Perhaps at this very moment, the other Philistine commanders are insisting David can't be trusted. In the morning, he will take his men and return home (1 Samuel 29). David won't fight in the battle that kills Saul and his sons and makes him king. Everything is in God's control.
