While Saul was talking to the priest, the commotion in the Philistine camp continued to increase. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
Parallel translations
- WEB While Saul talked to the priest, the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased; and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand!”
- KJV And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
- NKJV Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
- NASB While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
- NLT But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, “Never mind; let’s get going!”
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
As the battle's tumult grows, Saul impatiently tells the priest to stop the inquiry, cutting short his seeking of God.
Overview
Saul begins to seek God's guidance but abandons it the moment the noise of victory swells, eager to rush into battle. His command to 'withdraw your hand' shows impulsiveness overriding patient dependence on the Lord. This impatience echoes his earlier failure at Gilgal and reveals a heart that seeks God only insofar as it does not delay his own plans.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Num 27:21He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”
- 1 Sam 14:24Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
- 1 Sam 13:11“What have you done?” Samuel asked. And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
- Ps 106:13Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel.
- Isa 28:16So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Josh 9:14Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
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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 14:19 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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