So Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day.
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he didn’t answer him that day.
- KJV And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
- BSB So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But God did not answer him that day.
- NASB So Saul inquired of God: “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You hand them over to Israel?” But He did not answer him on that day.
- NLT So Saul asked God, “Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?” But God made no reply that day.
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
Saul asks God whether to pursue the Philistines, but God gives no answer that day.
Overview
The divine silence signals that something stands between Saul and the Lord, here the unfulfilled oath. God's refusal to answer prompts an inquiry to find the cause. This withholding of guidance shows that God is not bound to bless every plan and that unresolved matters can hinder communion with him, a sober reminder for all who seek the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Sam 28:6When Saul inquired of Yahweh, Yahweh didn’t answer him by dreams, by Urim, or by prophets.
- Ezek 14:3–5“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their heart, and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face. Should I be inquired of at all by them?
- 1 Sam 23:9–12David knew that Saul was devising mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.”
- 1 Kgs 22:15When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?” He answered him, “Go up and prosper; and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 1 Sam 23:4Then David inquired of Yahweh yet again. Yahweh answered him, and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- 1 Kgs 22:5Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for Yahweh’s word.”
- 2 Sam 5:19David inquired of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hand?” Yahweh said to David, “Go up; for I will certainly deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- 1 Sam 30:7–8David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring the ephod here to me.” Abiathar brought the ephod to David.
- 2 Sam 5:23When David inquired of Yahweh, he said, “You shall not go up. Circle around behind them, and attack them in front of the mulberry trees.
- Judg 20:18The children of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and asked counsel of God. They asked, “Who shall go up for us first to battle against the children of Benjamin?” Yahweh said, “Judah first.”
- Judg 20:28and Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days), saying, “Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease?” Yahweh said, “Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver him into your hand.”
- Ezek 20:3“Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: “Is it to inquire of me that you have come? As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I will not be inquired of by you.”’
- 1 Sam 10:22Therefore they asked of Yahweh further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” Yahweh answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
- Judg 1:1After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”
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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 14:37 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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