1 Samuel 28:21

21 Therefore that woman entered to Saul, and said; for he was troubled greatly (for he was greatly troubled); and she said to him, Lo! thine handmaid hath obeyed to thy voice, and I have put my life in mine hand, and I heard thy words, which thou spakest to me.

1 Samuel 28:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 28:21

And the woman came unto Saul
Having left him and the apparition in a room by themselves to converse together, and perhaps on hearing him fall to the ground came in:

and saw that he was sore troubled:
by his lying on the ground, and the agonies he seemed to be in, and the uneasiness that sat upon his countenance:

and said unto him, behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice;
in divining by her familiar spirit for him, and in bringing up Samuel to him, as he desired:

and I have put my life in my hand;
exposed it to the utmost danger, since a person of her profession, and token in the exercise of it, was punishable with death; and especially she was in the greater danger, as it was Saul himself, who had by an edict expelled all such persons from his dominions, who now employed her, as she perceived:

and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me:
to the oath he had taken, that no hurt should come to her, which she confided in, and relied upon, and to what he bid her do, according to her art of divination.

1 Samuel 28:21 In-Context

19 and the Lord shall give also Israel with thee in the hand of Philistines. Forsooth tomorrow thou and thy sons shall be with me; but also the Lord shall betake the castles of Israel in the hand of the Philistines [but and the Lord shall take the tents of Israel in the hand of the Philistines]. (and the Lord shall also give Israel along with thee into the hands of the Philistines. Yea, tomorrow thou and thy sons shall be with me; and the Lord shall deliver the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.)

20 And anon Saul fell down and was stretched forth upon the earth; for he dreaded the words of Samuel, and strength was not in him, for he had not eaten bread in all that day and all that night. (And at once Saul fell down and was stretched out on the ground; for he feared Samuel's words, and there was no strength in him, for he had not eaten any food all that day and all that night.)

21 Therefore that woman entered to Saul, and said; for he was troubled greatly (for he was greatly troubled); and she said to him, Lo! thine handmaid hath obeyed to thy voice, and I have put my life in mine hand, and I heard thy words, which thou spakest to me.

22 And now therefore thou hear the voice of thine handmaid, and I shall set a morsel of bread before thee, and that thou eating wax strong, and mayest do thy journey. (And so now listen thou to the voice of thy servantess, for I shall set a morsel of food before thee, and once that thou hast eaten it, thou shalt grow strong, and then thou shalt go forth on thy journey.)

23 And he forsook it, and said, I shall not eat. But his servants and the woman compelled him; and at the last, when the voice of them was heard, he rose up from the earth, and sat on the bed.