Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the raiders, also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an exceedingly great trembling.
- KJV And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.
- BSB Then terror struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked and panic spread from God.
- NKJV And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.
- NASB And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A God-sent trembling and earthquake seize the entire Philistine camp, turning their strength into panic.
Overview
The text describes the fear as exceedingly great, even accompanied by the earth quaking, signaling divine intervention. What two men began, God amplifies into camp-wide terror. This 'trembling from God' shows that the real victory is the Lord's work, sowing confusion among the enemy and confirming Jonathan's faith that God saves by his own power.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Sam 13:17The raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual;
- Gen 35:5They traveled, and a terror of God was on the cities that were around them, and they didn’t pursue the sons of Jacob.
- Exod 19:18All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
- 2 Kgs 7:6–7For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians to hear the sound of chariots, and the sound of horses, even the noise of a great army; and they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us.”
- 2 Sam 5:24When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then stir yourself up; for then Yahweh has gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”
- Judg 7:21They each stood in his place around the camp; and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
- Job 18:11Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall chase him at his heels.
- Dan 5:6Then the king’s face was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his thighs were loosened, and his knees struck one against another.
- Ps 14:5There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous.
- 1 Sam 13:23The garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
- Matt 24:6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.
- Josh 2:9She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
- Matt 27:50–51Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.
- Lev 26:36–37“‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword. They will fall when no one pursues.
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 14:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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