1 Samuel 28:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way."

NIV: Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way."

NASB: So now you too, please listen to the voice of your servant, and let me serve you a piece of bread, and eat it, so that you will have strength when you go on your way.'

CSB: Now please listen to your servant. Let me set some food in front of you. Eat and it will give you strength so you can go on your way."

NLT: Now do what I say, and let me give you a little something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back.'

KJV: Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.

NKJV: Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

When new customers arrived at the medium's doorway, and especially when one was revealed to be King Saul, the medium was afraid for her life. She chose to believe the king when he said she'd be safe. She contacted the prophet Samuel for him (1 Samuel 28:8–14). Samuel's news for Saul is terrifying. The king and his sons will die in battle with the Philistines the next day. Saul is so overcome he collapses to the ground (1 Samuel 28:15–20).

The woman realizes the king is more afraid than she is. While she feared he would kill her, he knows he is going to die. For now, though, he's in her home, under her hospitality. With the help of his two servants, she gets Saul to take just a little bit of bread. Then, she prepares a calf along with fresher bread. When their bellies are filled, the three men leave her in peace (1 Samuel 28:23–25).

Part of why Saul collapses is because he's been fasting. This isn't the first time; he once told his entire army they must not eat before they had won the battle. They won, but at the end, the men were so hungry they tore into the spoils without properly processing the meat (1 Samuel 14:24–35). Even at the end, Saul hasn't learned that God prefers obedience to ritualistic superstition (1 Samuel 15:22–23). Sometimes, fasting brings wisdom. But sometimes the very act is foolishness.

First Samuel 28:20–25 records King Saul's last known meal on earth. This gives him just enough strength to meet his doom. He's about to face the combined armies of the Philistines. Samuel's spirit has told him the Philistines will win, and Saul and his sons will die (1 Samuel 28:3–19). Saul hasn't eaten and collapses on the ground. The witch prepares them food, and she and his servants convince him to eat. The next day, three of Saul's sons, including Jonathan, will die. When Saul is wounded, he will fall on his sword (1 Samuel 31). Because of Saul's rebellion against God, David will be king.

Israelites and the Philistines prepare for war. The Philistine king Achish demands that David fight with him against Israel. Terrified at the amassed Philistine army and unable to reach the Lord for help, Saul finds a medium to contact Samuel's spirit. Samuel repeats that the Lord has taken the kingdom from Saul and adds that Saul and his sons will fall, along with Israel, the next day. The medium serves Saul and his men a large meal, and the men leave under the cover of darkness. David is saved from having to fight his own people, but Saul and his sons do die. David will soon be king (1 Samuel 29; 31).

David and his men have escaped Saul (1 Samuel 27) and begun been fighting Israel's enemies under the protection of the Philistine king Achish (1 Samuel 28). Now, Achish wants David to fight Israel with him. Saul sees the Philistine army and is terrified. He finds a medium to call up Samuel's spirit. Samuel tells Saul that he, his sons, and Israel will fall. Fortunately, the other Philistine kings refuse to fight with David, and Achish sends him home. But Saul's sons are killed. Mortally wounded, Saul will take his own life (1 Samuel 29; 31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.