Answered and said is a literal translation of the Hebrew. These are not two separate actions, and many modern versions use a single verb, as in Good News Translation.

The verb Give is second person masculine plural in Hebrew. So Solomon was probably speaking to the male servants in his court.

Child: See the comments on verse 26.

To the first woman is literally “to her.” The most natural reading of the Hebrew grammar is that the pronoun “her” refers to the last woman who spoke in verse 26, the woman who said that the child should be divided. But most interpreters assume that the king gave the child to the real mother, and for this reason Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and most other translations say “to the first woman.” New Living Translation says “to the woman who wants him to live.” It is possible, however, that the king did as the real mother requested in verse 26a and that he gave the child to the other woman instead of to the first woman. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh follows the form of the Hebrew by keeping the pronoun and thereby leaves the meaning ambiguous.

By no means slay it: See the comments on this nearly identical construction in verse 26.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .