But he refused, and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and he listened to their voice. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. The woman had a fattened calf in the house. She hurried and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it. She brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
Parallel Translations
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But he refused, and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, constrained him; and he listened to their voice. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed.
The woman had a fattened calf in the house. She hurried and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread of it.
She brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they ate. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
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But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.
And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:
And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
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But he refused, and said: 'I will not eat.' But his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.
And the woman had a fatted calf in the house; and she made haste, and killed it; and she took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof;
and she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.
Cross-references (10)
- 1 Kings 21:4 (v23) Ahab came into his house sullen and angry because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, “I will not…
- Luke 15:23 (v24) Bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let’s eat, and celebrate;
- Genesis 18:7-8 (v24) Abraham ran to the herd, and fetched a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant. He hurried to dress it. He took butter, milk, and…
- 2 Kings 4:8 (v23) One day Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a prominent woman; and she persuaded him to eat bread. So it was, that as often as he passed…
- 2 Kings 5:13 (v23) His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done…
Show all 10 cross-references
- Proverbs 25:20 (v23) As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
- Luke 14:23 (v23) “The lord said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
- Luke 24:29 (v23) They urged him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.” He went in to stay with them.
- Acts 16:15 (v23) When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and…
- 2 Corinthians 5:14 (v23) For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (15 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v24 Because it required haste.
Because it required haste.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv23–24 1Sa 28:23 But he refused, and said, I will…
1Sa 28:23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.
Ver. 23. I will not eat.] If the message of death made Hezekiah weep, {Isa 38:3} and the approach of it was mar mar, bitter bitterness, {Isa 38:17} what wonder if Saul were so dismayed that he had no mind to his meat?
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv23–25 Compelled him, i.e. did over-persuade him, by importunate entreaties,…
Compelled him, i.e. did over-persuade him, by importunate entreaties, as the next words show.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–25 But he refused, and said, I will not eat,....…
But he refused, and said, I will not eat,.... Choosing rather to die with famine than by the sword of the Philistines; though perhaps his meaning is, he could not eat, his stomach loathed it, being overwhelmed with grief and trouble:
but his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; not by force, but by arguments; they reasoned with him, and prevailed upon him to try to eat:
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and he hearkened unto their voice; and agreed to eat, if he could:
so he arose from the earth; on which he lay at his full length:
and sat upon the bed; or couch, it being now the custom to recline on couches at caring; though some deny that this custom obtained so early.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v24 Unleavened - Not having time to leaven it.
Unleavened - Not having time to leaven it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23–25 Verse 23. I will not eat.] It is no…
Verse 23. I will not eat.] It is no wonder that not only his strength, but also his appetite, had departed from him.
And sat upon the bed] Beds or couches were the common places on which the ancients sat to take their repasts.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v25 1Sa 28:25. They arose up and went away that…
1Sa 28:25. They arose up and went away that night — “What remorse,”
says Delaney, “what desolation of mind, what horrors of guilt, what terrors and anticipations of divine wrath haunted him by the way, may no reader ever learn from his own experience!” Some have expressed a hope, that as, no doubt, his past sins were now brought to his remembrance, he felt contrition for them. Of this, however, the Holy Ghost is silent; and considering that at last he was guilty of self-murder we have no reason to think he experienced any repentance that was of any service to his immortal interests.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v23 The bed - Rather, “the bench” or divan, such…
The bed - Rather, “the bench” or divan, such as in the East still runs along the wall, furnished with cushions, for those who sit at meals Est 1:6; Eze 23:41.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v24 Calf, destined for a victim or feast, Luke xv.…
Calf, destined for a victim or feast, Luke xv. 23., and Proverbs xv. 17. (Calmet) --- The generosity of this woman deserves commendation. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] vi. 15.) (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv24–25 the woman had a fat calf . . .…
the woman had a fat calf . . . and she hasted, and killed it, &c.--(See on Gen 18:1-8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv23–25 23. I will not eat — Extreme mental anguish…
23. I will not eat — Extreme mental anguish takes away all appetite.
Compelled him — Constrained him by urgent importunity.
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Sat upon the bed — The couch or divan beside the table, on which guests are wont to recline at meals.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–24 23. upon the bed] Probably the divan, or platform…
23. upon the bed] Probably the divan, or platform running along the wall, which in the East serves for a seat by day and a bed at night. Cp. Est_1:6; Eze_23:41. Portable couches were also in use (ch. 1Sa_19:15).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–25 (23) And sat upon the bed—That is, upon the…
(23) And sat upon the bed—That is, upon the divan, or cushioned seat, which usually runs round the walls of rooms in Eastern dwellings. There is nothing in the narration to support the common idea, represented so often in painting, that the scene above related took place in a cave. The witch probably lived in a dwelling of her own at En-dor. There is nothing either in the narrative to indicate that she was living in a place of concealment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v24 fatted calf
fatted calf
a calf that has been grown and fed to be available for a special feast
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she ... kneaded it
She mixed flour and oil, working and rolling the mixture thoroughly with her hands to produce dough for baking.
translationWords
cow
unleavened bread
Saul (OT)
servant
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v24 28:24 fattening a calf . . . dough .…
28:24 fattening a calf . . . dough . . . bread: This meal was a major undertaking, a model of hospitality (cp. Gen 18:5-7). This meal the medium shared with Saul recalls the fine meal Samuel had shared with Saul (1 Sam 9:22-24) before he anointed Saul as king. That meal with God’s prophet marked the beginning of Saul’s kingship. This meal with a condemned spiritist came shortly before his death.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.