1 Samuel 28:20-25

28:20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, ¹  not having eaten anything ²  all that day and night. 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  28:22 Now it’s your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way.”

28:23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged ⁵  him to eat, so he gave in. ⁶  He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 28:24 Now the woman ⁷  had a well-fed calf ⁸  at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. 28:25 She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.

[28:20]  ¹ tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”

[28:20]  ² tn Heb “food.”

[28:21]  ³ tn Heb “listened to your voice.”

[28:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”

[28:23]  ⁵ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַיִּפְצְרוּ (vayyiftseru, “and they pressed”; from the root פצר, psr) rather than the MT’s וַיִּפְרְצוּ (vayyifretsu, “and they broke forth”; from the root פרצ, prs).

[28:23]  ⁶ tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”

[28:24]  ⁷ sn Masoretic mss of the Hebrew Bible mark this word as the half-way point in the book of Samuel, treating 1 and 2 Samuel as a single book. Similar notations are found at the midway point for all of the books of the Hebrew Bible.

[28:24]  ⁸ tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”