1 Samuel 26:19

26:19 So let my lord the king now listen to the words of his servant. If the Lord has incited you against me, may he take delight in ¹  an offering. But if men have instigated this, ²  may they be cursed before the Lord! For they have driven me away this day from being united with the Lord’s inheritance, saying, ‘Go on, serve other gods!’

1 Samuel 28:21

28:21 When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, “Your servant has done what you asked. ³  I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. ⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.

² tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”

³ tn Heb “listened to your voice.”

⁴ tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”