1 Samuel 14:20
in 1 Samuel 14Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Assembled themselves - See marg. Many versions give the sense “shouted,” which is far preferable, and only requires a different punctuation.
This site's exposition
with each man wielding the sword against his neighbor
on 1 Samuel 14:20-23
The rout turns the Philistine camp against itself before Saul's men strike a blow, and Hebrews who had gone over to the Philistine side and Israelites hiding in the hills both come out to join the winning side once the outcome is plain. The narrator names the true cause without qualifying it: so the LORD saved Israel that day. The battle rolls past Michmash to Beth-aven, a place name that will carry its own irony after Saul's next decision.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church3 voices
Saul and all the people cried out, etc. Jews, Gentiles, and heretics, although they are all enemies of the Church, wound each other with the sword of the word. The Jews themselves fight among themselves through the Pharisees and Sadducees: likewise heretics and pagans, with …
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
For what else does it signify that Saul first sought to bring the ark near, then commanded the priest to withdraw his hand, except that we ought to arrange obscure matters by consulting, and fulfill with haste those things that become more clearly known? But for the preacher to hear the tumult gradually increasing is to recognize the devotion of converted sinners. It is said to increase gradually, because while the Spirit directs our mind toward good works, he gently leads it toward better things through daily progress.
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
What is this sword, if not the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God? For those who in innumerable places have been converted to the service of almighty God, because they cling inseparably to the word of God, each one holds a sword, as it were, close at hand. Therefore the sword of each one is turned against his neighbor, when those who have been converted in monasteries pierce one another in turn with the word of God and utterly slay the carnality within themselves.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) every man's sword was against his fellow. When they fled for fear, instead of turning back upon those that chased them, they reckoned those only their enemies that stood in their way, and treated them accordingly.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And Saul, and all the people that were with him, assembled themselves,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Our Lord Jesus had conquered our spiritual enemies, routed and dispersed them, so that we are cowards indeed if we will not stand to our arms when it is only to pursue the victory and to divide the spoil. Every Hebrew, even those from whom one would least have expected it, now turned his hand against the Philistines.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Saul and all the people--All the warriors in the garrison at Gibeah, the Israelite deserters in the camp of the Philistines, and the fugitives among the mountains of Ephraim, now all rushed to the pursuit, which was hot and sanguinary.
Modern Voices1 voice
A commentator
GK ChestertonTime's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905) · Written before 1936.
proposed
The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle - and not lose it.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּזָּעֵ֣ק | vaiyizaek | and he was called together | H2199 → | 73 times |
| שָׁא֗וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָם֙ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתּ֔וֹ | ʾito | [was] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ | vaiyavou | and they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | hamilchamah | the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֨ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הָיְתָ֜ה | hayetah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חֶ֤רֶב | cherev | [the] sword of | H2719 → | 413 times |
| אִישׁ֙ | ʾish | each man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּרֵעֵ֔הוּ | bereehu | in neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| מְהוּמָ֖ה | mehumah | panic | H4103 → | 12 times |
| גְּדוֹלָ֥ה | gedolah | [was] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיִּזָּעֵ֣קand he was called together
vaiyizaekH2199 →73 times
שָׁא֗וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעָם֙the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אִתּ֔וֹ[was] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אוּand they went
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַמִּלְחָמָ֑הthe battle
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וְהִנֵּ֨הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הָיְתָ֜הit was
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
חֶ֤רֶב[the] sword of
cherevH2719 →413 times
אִישׁ֙each man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בְּרֵעֵ֔הוּin neighbor his
bereehuH7453 →188 times
מְהוּמָ֖הpanic
mehumahH4103 →12 times
גְּדוֹלָ֥ה[was] great
gedolahH1419 →526 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 19:2“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
it leads to
- Judges 7:22
And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 10:36
A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’
- Matthew 10:21
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.
- Judges 7:22
Through
Judges 7:22And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the…
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:2
“So I will incite Egyptian against Egyptian; brother will fight against brother, neighbor against neighbor, city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 4:12
Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
- Psalms 83:9
Do to them as You did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon,
- Joshua 6:20
So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into…
- Isaiah 9:4
For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
- Isaiah 19:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.