1 Samuel 14:9
in 1 Samuel 14If they say, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stay where we are and will not go up to them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
KJV
If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 14
Commentary
9 notes on this verseIf they say thus unto us - Jonathan had no doubt asked this as a sign from God; exactly as Eliezer the servant of Abraham did, Gen 24:12.
This site's exposition
we will cross over toward these men and show ourselves to them
on 1 Samuel 14:8-10
Jonathan sets a sign to test whether the LORD has delivered the outpost to him, and the terms are his own: if the Philistines say "Come on up," he will go. It is a private test of providence agreed between two men, apart from the priest's ephod or a cast lot. Saul asks God at verse 37 and receives silence, while Jonathan's sign is answered before he climbs.
This site's exposition
Wait until we come to you
Adam Clarke compared Jonathan's sign to the one Abraham's servant asked at the spring in Genesis 24:12 to 14. Each man named in advance the words that would show the LORD's answer. Jonathan let the Philistines' own words decide.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Gregory the DialogistCommentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4 · Written before 604.
proposed
On the contrary, sinners eagerly desire to cross over to the teachers when they are plunged into such profound blindness that they strive to convert even the preachers themselves to the example of imitating their own depravity. For they are prone to evil, impenitent in heart, and they do not shrink from staining others with the leprosy of sin which they have put on. Of whom the wise man speaks, saying: "They rejoice when they have done evil, and exult in the worst things" (Prov. 2:14).
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Saul had once offended by offering sacrifice himself, ch. xiii. Now he resolves never to fall into that error again, and therefore sends for a priest, and hopes to compromise the matter with God Almighty by a particular reformation, as many do whose hearts are unhumbled and unchanged.
); but if they be so presumptuous as to challenge us, and the first sentinel we meet with bid us march on, we will push forward, and make as brisk an onset, assuredly gathering thence that it is the will of God we should act offensively, and then not doubting but he will stand by us, "
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
), and, upon their acceptance of the challenge, charged them with such fury, or rather such faith, that he put them to flight, and set them one against another (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
If they say thus unto us,....
1 more voice on this verse
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
But if they say [to us], 'Come up to us.' A fear inspired by the Holy One, Blessed is He, is in their heart and they are afraid to move from their place.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up; for the LORD has handed them over into our hand.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| כֹּ֤ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יֹֽאמְרוּ֙ | yomeru | they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֵ֔ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דֹּ֕מּוּ | domu | be still | H1826 → | |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַגִּיעֵ֖נוּ | hagienu | reach we | H5060 → | 150 times |
| אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם | ʾaleikhem | <to> you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְעָמַ֣דְנוּ | veamadnu | and we will remain | H5975 → | 521 times |
| תַחְתֵּ֔ינוּ | tachteinu | in place our | H8478 → | 505 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נַעֲלֶ֖ה | naaleh | we will go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
כֹּ֤הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
יֹֽאמְרוּ֙they will say
yomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלֵ֔ינוּto us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
דֹּ֕מּוּbe still
domuH1826 →
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
הַגִּיעֵ֖נוּreach we
hagienuH5060 →150 times
אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם<to> you
ʾaleikhemH413 →5510 times
וְעָמַ֣דְנוּand we will remain
veamadnuH5975 →521 times
תַחְתֵּ֔ינוּin place our
tachteinuH8478 →505 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
נַעֲלֶ֖הwe will go up
naalehH5927 →890 times
אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃to them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; GK Chesterton, Time's Abstract and Brief Chronicle (1904-1905); Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.