1 Samuel 28:21-25

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. ¹  I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. ²  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 ³  him to eat, so he gave in. ⁴  He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. 28:24 Now the woman ⁵  had a well-fed calf ⁶  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.

[28:21]  ¹ tn Heb “listened to your voice.”

[28:21]  ² tn Heb “listened to your words that you spoke to me.”

[28:23]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”

[28:24]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “a calf of the stall.”