And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’”
- KJV And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
- NKJV And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ”
- NASB And Samuel said to the cook, “Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’ ”
- NLT Samuel then instructed the cook to bring Saul the finest cut of meat, the piece that had been set aside for the guest of honor.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Samuel directs the cook to bring the portion he had set aside for this occasion.
Overview
Samuel had deliberately reserved a special portion in anticipation of Saul's arrival. This planned provision again shows the foreknowledge God had given His prophet. Every detail confirms that the meeting was arranged in advance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 9:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.