1 Samuel 14:20

THE MESSAGE

Saul immediately called his army together and they went straight to the battle. When they got there they found total confusion—Philistines swinging their swords wildly, killing each other. Hebrews who had earlier defected to the Philistine camp came back. They now wanted to be with Israel under Saul and Jonathan. Not only that, but when all the Israelites who had been hiding out in the backwoods of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running for their lives, they came out and joined the chase. God saved Israel! What a day! The fighting moved on to Beth Aven. The whole army was behind Saul now—ten thousand strong!—with the fighting scattering into all the towns throughout the hills of Ephraim.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Saul and all the troops with him assembled and marched to the battle, and there the Philistines were, fighting against each other in great confusion!

Hebrew Names Version
Sha'ul and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great confusion.

King James Version
And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Lexham English Bible
Then Saul and all the troops who were with him were assembled on command and came up to the battle, and look! Each Philistine's sword was against his friend; and there was a very great confusion.

English Standard Version
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.

New Century Version
Then Saul gathered his army and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, striking each other with their swords!

New English Translation
Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords.

Amplified Bible
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and behold, every [Philistine] man's sword was against his companion, in wild confusion.

New American Standard Bible
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow Philistine, and there was very great confusion.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And Saul was assembled with all the people that were with him, and they came to the battell: and behold, euery mans sworde was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.

Contemporary English Version
Saul quickly called his army together, then led them to the Philistine camp. By this time the Philistines were so confused that they were killing each other.

Complete Jewish Bible
Sha'ul and the entire force with him assembled and went to battle, but they found the P'lishtim all fighting each other in utter confusion.

Darby Translation
And Saul and all the people that were with him were called together, and they came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, a very great confusion.

Easy-to-Read Version
Saul gathered his army together and went to the battle. The Philistine soldiers were very confused. They were even fighting each other with their swords.

George Lamsa Translation
Then Saul and all the people who were with him shouted together, and they came to the battle; and, behold, every mans sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great confusion.

Good News Translation
Then he and his men marched into battle against the Philistines, who were fighting each other in complete confusion.

Literal Translation
And Saul and all the people with him gathered together and went to the battle. And, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, a very great panic!

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Saul cried, and all the people that was with him, and came to the battayll. And beholde, euery mans swerde was agaynst another, and there was a very greate rumoure.

American Standard Version
And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Bible in Basic English
And Saul and all the people with him came together and went forward to the fight: and every man's sword was turned against the man at his side, and there was a very great noise.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Saul ioyned him selfe vnto al the people that were with him, & they came to the battell, and behold euery mans sword was against his felow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle; and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

King James Version (1611)
And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselues, and they came to the battel, and behold, euery mans sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Saul went up and all the people that were with him, and they come to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his neighbour, a very great confusion.

English Revised Version
And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great discomfiture.

Berean Standard Bible
Then Saul and all his troops assembled and marched to the battle, and they found the Philistines in total confusion, with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Saul criede, and al the puple that was with hym; and thei camen `til to the place of batel, and, lo! the swerd of ech man was turned to his neiybore, and a ful grete sleynge was.

Young's Literal Translation
And Saul is called, and all the people who [are] with him, and they come in unto the battle, and, lo, the sword of each hath been against his neighbour -- a very great destruction.

Update Bible Version
And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and saw that every man's sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great panic.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Saul and all the people that [were] with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great discomfiture.

World English Bible
Saul and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, [and there was] a very great confusion.

New King James Version
Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man's sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion.

New Living Translation
Then Saul and all his men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other. There was terrible confusion everywhere.

New Life Bible
Then Saul and all the people with him gathered together and went into the battle. Every man's sword was against the man next to him. It was as if no one knew what to do.

New Revised Standard
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and every sword was against the other, so that there was very great confusion.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Saul and all the people that were with him gathered themselves together, and came as far as the host, - and lo! the sword of every man was against his fellow, an exceeding great confusion.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Saul, and all the people that were with him, shouted together, and they came to the place of the fight: and behold every man’s sword was turned upon his neighbour, and there was a very great slaughter.

Revised Standard Version
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.

Contextual Overview

¹⁶Saul's sentries posted back at Geba (Gibeah) in Benjamin saw the confusion and turmoil raging in the camp. Saul commanded, "Line up and take the roll. See who's here and who's missing." When they called the roll, Jonathan and his armor bearer turned up missing. Saul ordered Ahijah, "Bring the priestly Ephod. Let's see what God has to say here." (Ahijah was responsible for the Ephod in those days.) While Saul was in conversation with the priest, the upheaval in the Philistine camp became greater and louder. Then Saul interrupted Ahijah: "Put the Ephod away." Saul immediately called his army together and they went straight to the battle. When they got there they found total confusion—Philistines swinging their swords wildly, killing each other. Hebrews who had earlier defected to the Philistine camp came back. They now wanted to be with Israel under Saul and Jonathan. Not only that, but when all the Israelites who had been hiding out in the backwoods of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running for their lives, they came out and joined the chase. God saved Israel! What a day! The fighting moved on to Beth Aven. The whole army was behind Saul now—ten thousand strong!—with the fighting scattering into all the towns throughout the hills of Ephraim. Saul did something really foolish that day. He addressed the army: "A curse on the man who eats anything before evening, before I've wreaked vengeance on my enemies!" None of them ate a thing all day. There were honeycombs here and there in the fields. But no one so much as put his finger in the honey to taste it, for the soldiers to a man feared the curse. But Jonathan hadn't heard his father put the army under oath. He stuck the tip of his staff into some honey and ate it. Refreshed, his eyes lit up with renewed vigor. A soldier spoke up, "Your father has put the army under solemn oath, saying, ‘A curse on the man who eats anything before evening!' No wonder the soldiers are drooping!" Jonathan said, "My father has imperiled the country. Just look how quickly my energy has returned since I ate a little of this honey! It would have been a lot better, believe me, if the soldiers had eaten their fill of whatever they took from the enemy. Who knows how much worse we could have whipped them!" They killed Philistines that day all the way from Micmash to Aijalon, but the soldiers ended up totally exhausted. Then they started plundering. They grabbed anything in sight—sheep, cattle, calves—and butchered it where they found it. Then they glutted themselves—meat, blood, the works. Saul was told, "Do something! The soldiers are sinning against God . They're eating meat with the blood still in it!" Saul said, "You're biting the hand that feeds you! Roll a big rock over here—now!" He continued, "Disperse among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring your oxen and sheep to me and butcher them properly here. Then you can feast to your heart's content. Please don't sin against God by eating meat with the blood still in it.'" And so they did. That night each soldier, one after another, led his animal there to be butchered. That's the story behind Saul's building an altar to God . It's the first altar to God that he built. Saul said, "Let's go after the Philistines tonight! We can spend the night looting and plundering. We won't leave a single live Philistine!" "Sounds good to us," said the troops. "Let's do it!" But the priest slowed them down: "Let's find out what God thinks about this." So Saul prayed to God, "Shall I go after the Philistines? Will you put them in Israel's hand?" God didn't answer him on that occasion. Saul then said, "All army officers, step forward. Some sin has been committed this day. We're going to find out what it is and who did it! As God lives, Israel's Savior God, whoever sinned will die, even if it should turn out to be Jonathan, my son!" Nobody said a word. Saul said to the Israelites, "You line up over on that side, and I and Jonathan my son will stand on this side." The army agreed, "Fine. Whatever you say." Then Saul prayed to God , "O God of Israel, why haven't you answered me today? Show me the truth. If the sin is in me or Jonathan, then, O God , give the sign Urim. But if the sin is in the army of Israel, give the sign Thummim." The Urim sign turned up and pointed to Saul and Jonathan. That cleared the army. Next Saul said, "Cast the lots between me and Jonathan—and death to the one God points to!" The soldiers protested, "No—this is not right. Stop this!" But Saul pushed on anyway. They cast the lots, Urim and Thummim, and the lot fell to Jonathan. Saul confronted Jonathan. "What did you do? Tell me!" Jonathan said, "I licked a bit of honey off the tip of the staff I was carrying. That's it—and for that I'm to die?" Saul said, "Yes. Jonathan most certainly will die. It's out of my hands—I can't go against God, can I?" The soldiers rose up: "Jonathan—die? Never! He's just carried out this stunning salvation victory for Israel. As surely as God lives, not a hair on his head is going to be harmed. Why, he's been working hand-in-hand with God all day!" The soldiers rescued Jonathan and he didn't die. Saul pulled back from chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went home. Saul extended his rule, capturing neighboring kingdoms. He fought enemies on every front—Moab, Ammon, Edom, the king of Zobah, the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he came up with a victory. He became invincible! He smashed Amalek, freeing Israel from the savagery and looting. Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. His daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the younger. Saul's wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. Abner son of Ner was commander of Saul's army (Ner was Saul's uncle). Kish, Saul's father, and Ner, Abner's father, were the sons of Abiel. All through Saul's life there was war, bitter and relentless, with the Philistines. Saul conscripted every strong and brave man he laid eyes on. ¹⁹ Later that day, Jonathan, Saul's son, said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the Philistine garrison patrol on the other side of the pass." But he didn't tell his father. Meanwhile, Saul was taking it easy under the pomegranate tree at the threshing floor on the edge of town at Geba (Gibeah). There were about six hundred men with him. Ahijah, wearing the priestly Ephod, was also there. (Ahijah was the son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eli the priest of God at Shiloh.) No one there knew that Jonathan had gone off. The pass that Jonathan was planning to cross over to the Philistine garrison was flanked on either side by sharp rock outcroppings, cliffs named Bozez and Seneh. The cliff to the north faced Micmash; the cliff to the south faced Geba (Gibeah). Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on now, let's go across to these uncircumcised pagans. Maybe God will work for us. There's no rule that says God can only deliver by using a big army. No one can stop God from saving when he sets his mind to it." His armor bearer said, "Go ahead. Do what you think best. I'm with you all the way." Jonathan said, "Here's what we'll do. We'll cross over the pass and let the men see we're there. If they say, ‘Halt! Don't move until we check you out,' we'll stay put and not go up. But if they say, ‘Come on up,' we'll go right up—and we'll know God has given them to us. That will be our sign." So they did it, the two of them. They stepped into the open where they could be seen by the Philistine garrison. The Philistines shouted out, "Look at that! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!" Then they yelled down to Jonathan and his armor bearer, "Come on up here! We've got a thing or two to show you!" Jonathan shouted to his armor bearer, "Up! Follow me! God has turned them over to Israel!" Jonathan scrambled up on all fours, his armor bearer right on his heels. When the Philistines came running up to them, he knocked them flat, his armor bearer right behind finishing them off, bashing their heads in with stones. In this first bloody encounter, Jonathan and his armor bearer killed about twenty men. That set off a terrific upheaval in both camp and field, the soldiers in the garrison and the raiding squad badly shaken up, the ground itself shuddering—panic like you've never seen before! Saul's sentries posted back at Geba (Gibeah) in Benjamin saw the confusion and turmoil raging in the camp. Saul commanded, "Line up and take the roll. See who's here and who's missing." When they called the roll, Jonathan and his armor bearer turned up missing. Saul ordered Ahijah, "Bring the priestly Ephod. Let's see what God has to say here." (Ahijah was responsible for the Ephod in those days.) While Saul was in conversation with the priest, the upheaval in the Philistine camp became greater and louder. Then Saul interrupted Ahijah: "Put the Ephod away." ²⁰Saul immediately called his army together and they went straight to the battle. When they got there they found total confusion—Philistines swinging their swords wildly, killing each other. Hebrews who had earlier defected to the Philistine camp came back. They now wanted to be with Israel under Saul and Jonathan. Not only that, but when all the Israelites who had been hiding out in the backwoods of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running for their lives, they came out and joined the chase. God saved Israel! What a day! The fighting moved on to Beth Aven. The whole army was behind Saul now—ten thousand strong!—with the fighting scattering into all the towns throughout the hills of Ephraim.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

assembled themselves: Heb. were cried together

every man's: 1 Samuel 14:16, Judges 7:22, 2 Chronicles 20:23, Isaiah 9:19-21, Isaiah 19:2

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:20 - vexation 1 Samuel 7:13 - against 1 Samuel 30:10 - so faint 1 Kings 20:21 - went out 2 Chronicles 20:22 - to sing and to Isaiah 9:21 - Ephraim Ezekiel 38:21 - every

Cross-References

Genesis 14:3
This second group of kings, the attacked, came together at the Valley of Siddim, that is, the Salt Sea. They had been under the thumb of Kedorlaomer for twelve years. In the thirteenth year, they revolted.

Genesis 14:5
In the fourteenth year, Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him set out and defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim, and the Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as El Paran on the far edge of the desert. On their way back they stopped at En Mishpat, that is, Kadesh, and conquered the whole region of the Amalekites as well as that of the Amorites who lived in Hazazon Tamar.

Genesis 14:17
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and his allied kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet him in the Valley of Shaveh, the King's Valley. Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine—he was priest of The High God—and blessed him: Blessed be Abram by The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth. And blessed be The High God, who handed your enemies over to you. Abram gave him a tenth of all the recovered plunder.

Numbers 28:26
"On the Day of Firstfruits when you bring an offering of new grain to God on your Feast-of-Weeks, gather in holy worship and don't do any regular work. Bring a Whole-Burnt-Offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs as a pleasing fragrance to God . Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each lamb, plus a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you.

Deuteronomy 14:28
At the end of every third year, gather the tithe from all your produce of that year and put it aside in storage. Keep it in reserve for the Levite who won't get any property or inheritance as you will, and for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow who live in your neighborhood. That way they'll have plenty to eat and God , your God, will bless you in all your work.

Nehemiah 10:37
We will bring the best of our grain, of our contributions, of the fruit of every tree, of wine, and of oil to the priests in the storerooms of The Temple of our God. We will bring the tithes from our fields to the Levites, since the Levites are appointed to collect the tithes in the towns where we work. We'll see to it that a priest descended from Aaron will supervise the Levites as they collect the tithes and make sure that they take a tenth of the tithes to the treasury in The Temple of our God. We'll see to it that the People of Israel and Levites bring the grain, wine, and oil to the storage rooms where the vessels of the Sanctuary are kept and where the priests who serve, the security guards, and the choir meet. We will not neglect The Temple of our God.

Psalms 68:19
Blessed be the Lord— day after day he carries us along. He's our Savior, our God, oh yes! He's God-for-us, he's God-who-saves-us. Lord God knows all death's ins and outs. What's more, he made heads roll, split the skulls of the enemy As he marched out of heaven, saying, "I tied up the Dragon in knots, put a muzzle on the Deep Blue Sea." You can wade through your enemies' blood, and your dogs taste of your enemies from your boots.

Psalms 144:1
A David Psalm Blessed be God , my mountain, who trains me to fight fair and well. He's the bedrock on which I stand, the castle in which I live, my rescuing knight, The high crag where I run for dear life, while he lays my enemies low.

Amos 4:4
"Come along to Bethel and sin! And then to Gilgal and sin some more! Bring your sacrifices for morning worship. Every third day bring your tithe. Burn pure sacrifices—thank offerings. Speak up—announce freewill offerings! That's the sort of religious show you Israelites just love." God 's Decree.

Malachi 3:8
"Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day. "You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?' "The tithe and the offering—that's how! And now you're under a curse—the whole lot of you—because you're robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. For my part, I will defend you against marauders, protect your wheat fields and vegetable gardens against plunderers." The Message of God -of-the-Angel-Armies.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Saul, and all the people that were with him, assembled themselves,.... The six hundred men that were with him, unless we can suppose the 1000 that had been with Jonathan in Gibeah were here still, see 1 Samuel 13:2

and they came to the battle; to the field of battle, the place where the army of the Philistines had lain encamped:

and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow; taking one another for Hebrews, or treacherous and disaffected persons; so that, though the Israelites had neither swords nor spears, they needed none, for the Philistines destroyed one another with their own swords; and there was a

very great discomfiture; noise, tumult, confusion, slaughter, and destruction.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Assembled themselves - See marg. Many versions give the sense “shouted,” which is far preferable, and only requires a different punctuation.