ddenly attack the Hebrews. Then
did Achish, the king of Gath, desire David to assist them with his armed
men against the Hebrews. This he readily promised; and said that the
time was now come wherein he might requite him for his kindness and
hospitality. So the king promised to make him the keeper of his body,
after the victory, supposing that the battle with the enemy succeeded to
their mind; which promise of honor and confidence he made on purpose to
increase his zeal for his service.

2. Now Saul, the king of the Hebrews, had cast out of the country the
fortune-tellers, and the necromancers, and all such as exercised
the like arts, excepting the prophets. But when he heard that the
Philistines were already come, and had pitched their camp near the city
Shunem, situate in the plain, he made haste to oppose them with his
forces; and when he was come to a certain mountain called Gilboa, he
pitched his camp over-against the enemy; but when he saw the enemy's
army he was greatly troubled, because it appeared to him to be numerous,
and superior to his own; and he inquired of God by the prophets
concerning the battle, that he might know beforehand what would be the
event of it. And when God did not answer him, Saul was under a still
greater dread, and his courage fell, foreseeing, as was but reasonable
to suppose, that mischief would befall him, now God was not there to
assist him; yet did he bid his servants to inquire out for him some
woman that was a necromancer and called up the souls of the dead, that
So he might know whether his affairs would succeed to his mind; for this
sort of necromantic women that bring up the souls of the dead, do by
them foretell future events to such as desire them. And one of his
servants told him that there was such a woman in the city Endor, but was
known to nobody in the camp; hereupon Saul put off his royal apparel,
and took two of those his servants with him, whom he knew to be most
faithful to him, and came to Endor to the woman, and entreated her to
act the part of a fortune-teller, and to bring up such a soul to him as
he should name to her. But when the woman opposed his motion, and
said she did not despise the king, who had banished this sort of
fortune-tellers, and that he did not do well himself, when she had done
him no harm, to endeavor to lay a snare for her, and to discover that
she exercised a forbidden art, in order to procure her to be punished,
he sware that nobody should