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Wednesday, May 14th, 2025
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Easy-to-Read Version

1 Samuel 26:5

Then David went to where Saul had set up his camp. David saw where Saul and Abner were sleeping. (Abner son of Ner was the commander of Saul's army.) Saul was sleeping in the center of a circle of men that surrounded him.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Abner;   Self-Control;   Thompson Chain Reference - Trenches;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Camp, Encampments;   Trench;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abner;   David;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Abishai;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Carriages;   David;   Hachilah, the Hill;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Abner;   David;   War;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Abner ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Abner;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ab'ner;   Carriage;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Abner;   Ner;   War;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Abishai;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Camp;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Immediately, David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were lying down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp with the troops camped around him.
Hebrew Names Version
David arose, and came to the place where Sha'ul had encamped; and David saw the place where Sha'ul lay, and Aviner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Sha'ul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
King James Version
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.
Lexham English Bible
Then David got up and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul was lying down, as well as Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. (Now Saul was lying in the encampment, and the army was encamping around him.)
English Standard Version
Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
New Century Version
Then David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, were sleeping. Saul was sleeping in the middle of the camp with all the army around him.
New English Translation
So David set out and went to the place where Saul was camped. David saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general in command of his army, were sleeping. Now Saul was lying in the entrenchment, and the army was camped all around him.
Amplified Bible
So David arose and went to the place where Saul had camped, and saw the spot where Saul lay, as well as Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying inside the circle of the camp, with the army camped around him.
New American Standard Bible
David then set out and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Dauid arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched, and when Dauid beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the sonne of Ner which was his chiefe captaine, (for Saul lay in the fort, and the people pitched round about him)
Legacy Standard Bible
David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, as well as Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.
Contemporary English Version
Then he sneaked up to Saul's camp. He noticed that Saul and his army commander Abner the son of Ner were sleeping in the middle of the camp, with soldiers sleeping all around them.
Complete Jewish Bible
David set out and went to where Sha'ul had pitched his camp. He saw where Sha'ul and Avner the son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping. Sha'ul was lying inside the barricade with the troops asleep all around him.
Darby Translation
And David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay within the wagon-defence, and the people were encamped round about him.
George Lamsa Translation
And David arose and came to the place where Saul was encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Sauls army, was lying in the path, and the people were encamped round about him.
Good News Translation
He went at once and located the exact place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, slept. Saul slept inside the camp, and his men camped around him.
Literal Translation
And David rose up and came to the place where Saul camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay down. And Abner the son of Ner, his army commander, and Saul were lying within the barricade. And the people were camping all around him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Dauid gat him vp, and came to the place where Saul had pitched his tet, and sawe the place where Saul laye with his chefe captayne Abner ye sonne of Ner: for Saul laye in the tent, and the hoost aboute him.
American Standard Version
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
Bible in Basic English
And David got up and came to the place where Saul's tents were: and David had a view of the place where Saul was sleeping with Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his army: and Saul was sleeping inside the ring of carts, and the tents of the people were all round him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid arose, & came to the place where Saul had pitched: & Dauid beheld the place where Saul lay, & Abner the sonne of Ner which was his chiefe captayne: for Saul lay in the fort, & the people pytched rounde about him.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host; and Saul lay within the barricade, and the people pitched round about him.
King James Version (1611)
And Dauid arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and Dauid beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the sonne of Ner the captaine of his hoste: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David arose secretly, and goes into the place where Saul was sleeping, and there was Abenner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul was sleeping in a chariot, and the people had encamped along round about him.
English Revised Version
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched: and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people pitched round about him.
Berean Standard Bible
Then David set out and went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army, had lain down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp, with the troops camped around him.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Dauid roos priueli, and cam to the place where Saul was. And whanne Dauid hadde seyn the place, wher ynne Saul slepte, and Abner, the sone of Ner, the prince of his chyualrye, and Saul slepynge in the tente, and the tother comyn puple bi his cumpas, Dauid seide to Achymelech,
Young's Literal Translation
and David riseth, and cometh in unto the place where Saul hath encamped, and David seeth the place where Saul hath lain, and Abner son of Ner, head of his host, and Saul is lying in the path, and the people are encamping round about him.
Update Bible Version
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay inside the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
Webster's Bible Translation
And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched around him.
World English Bible
David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
New King James Version
So David arose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Now Saul lay within the camp, with the people encamped all around him.
New Living Translation
David slipped over to Saul's camp one night to look around. Saul and Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping inside a ring formed by the slumbering warriors.
New Life Bible
Then David got ready and came to the place where Saul was staying. He saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his army. Saul was lying in the center of the tents, and the people were sleeping around him.
New Revised Standard
Then David set out and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped, and David saw the place where Saul was lying, with Abner, son of Ner, prince of his host, - and, Saul, was lying within the circular trench, with, the people, encamped round about him.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And David arose secretly, and came to the place where Saul was: and when he had beheld the place, wherein Saul slept, and Abner, the son of Ner, the captain of his army, and Saul sleeping in a tent, and the rest of the multitude round about him,
Revised Standard Version
Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
THE MESSAGE
Obsessed with a Single Flea Some Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, "Did you know that David is hiding out on the Hakilah Hill just opposite Jeshimon?" Saul was on his feet in a minute and on his way to the wilderness of Ziph, taking three thousand of his best men, the pick of the crop, to hunt for David in that wild desert. He camped just off the road at the Hakilah Hill, opposite Jeshimon. David, still out in the backcountry, knew Saul had come after him. He sent scouts to determine his precise location. Then David set out and came to the place where Saul had set up camp and saw for himself where Saul and Abner, son of Ner, his general, were staying. Saul was safely inside the camp, encircled by the army.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
David then arose and came to the place where Saul had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the camp, and the people were camped around him.

Contextual Overview

1 The people of Ziph went to see Saul at Gibeah and said to him, "David is hiding on Hakilah Hill, across from Jeshimon." 2 Saul gathered 3000 of the best soldiers in Israel and went down to the desert of Ziph to search for David there. 3 Saul set up his camp by the road at Hakilah Hill, across from Jeshimon. David was out in the desert and saw that Saul had come out into the desert after him. 4 So David sent out spies to know for certain that Saul had come after him again. 5 Then David went to where Saul had set up his camp. David saw where Saul and Abner were sleeping. (Abner son of Ner was the commander of Saul's army.) Saul was sleeping in the center of a circle of men that surrounded him.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Abner: 1 Samuel 9:1, 1 Samuel 14:50, 1 Samuel 14:51, 1 Samuel 17:55, 2 Samuel 2:8-12, 2 Samuel 3:7, 2 Samuel 3:8, 2 Samuel 3:27, 2 Samuel 3:33-38, 1 Chronicles 9:39

trench: or, midst of his carriages, 1 Samuel 17:20, The word maugal never signifies a ditch or rampart, but a chariot or waggon way. Nor does it seem to denote a ring of carriages, as Buxtorf and others interpret the word; for it is not probable that Saul would encumber his army with baggage in so rapid a pursuit, nor that so mountainous a country was practicable for waggons. It appears simply to mean here, the circular encampment (from agal, "round") which these troops formed, in the midst of which, as being the place of honour, Saul reposed. An Arab camp, D'Arvieux informs us, is always circular, when the disposition of the ground will permit, the prince being in the middle, and the troops at a respectful distance around him. Add to which, their lances are fixed near them in the ground all the day long, ready for action.

Cross-References

Genesis 12:4
So Abram left Haran just like the Lord said, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.
Genesis 17:23
Then Abraham gathered together Ishmael and all the slaves born in his house. He also gathered all the slaves he had bought. Every man and boy in Abraham's house was gathered together, and they were all circumcised. Abraham circumcised them that day, just as God had told him to do.
Genesis 18:19
I have made a special agreement with him. I did this so that he would command his children and his descendants to live the way the Lord wants them to. I did this so that they would live right and be fair. Then I, the Lord , can give him what I promised."
Genesis 22:16
The angel said, "You were ready to kill your only son for me. Since you did this for me, I make you this promise: I, the Lord , promise that
Genesis 22:18
Every nation on the earth will be blessed through your descendants. I will do this because you obeyed me."
Genesis 26:1
Now there was a famine. This was like the famine that happened during Abraham's life. So Isaac went to the town of Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines.
Genesis 26:2
The Lord spoke to Isaac and said, "Don't go down to Egypt. Live in the land that I commanded you to live in.
Genesis 26:6
So Isaac settled in Gerar.
Matthew 5:19
"A person should obey every command in the law, even one that does not seem important. Whoever refuses to obey any command and teaches others not to obey it will be the least important in God's kingdom. But whoever obeys the law and teaches others to obey it will be great in God's kingdom.
Matthew 7:24
"Whoever hears these teachings of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David arose, and came to the place where Saul had pitched,.... Came near it, within sight of it; so that he could take a view of it with his naked eye, and observe where and in what manner he was encamped:

and David beheld the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner,

the captain of his host; where he and his general had their quarters in the camp:

and Saul lay in the trench; or circuit; not in the foss or ditch thrown up, in which an army sometimes lies entrenched; but this is to be understood either of the camp itself, so called, as Ben Gersom, Abarbinel, and Ben Melech think, because it lay in a circular form, that all comers to it on every side might be seen; or else a sort of fortress all around the camp, made of carriages joined together; and as the word signifies a carriage, cart or chariot, it may design the chariot in which Saul slept, as kings have been used to do when not in their houses; and to this the Septuagint agrees, which uses a word that Procopius Gazaeus says signifies one kind of a chariot, and is used of a chariot drawn by mules, in the Greek version of Isaiah 66:20; Grotius observes, kings used to sleep in chariots where there were no houses;

Isaiah 66:20- :; though he rather seems to have slept, "sub die", in the open air:

and the people pitched round about him; both for the sake of honour, and for his greater security; this shows it could not be the loss he laid in, for then they could not pitch around him.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 26:5. David arose — As David and his men knew the country, they had many advantages over Saul and his men; and no doubt could often watch them without being discovered.

Saul lay in the trench — The word במעגל bammaegal, which we translate in the trench, and in the margin in the midst of his carriages, is rendered by some in a ring of carriages, and by others in the circle, i.e., which was formed by his troops. Luther himself translates it wagenburg, a fortress formed of wagons or carriages.

As עגל agal signifies any thing round, it may here refer to a round pavilion or tent made for Saul, or else to the form of his camp. The Arabs, to the present day, always form a circle in their encampments, and put their principal officers in the centre.


 
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