When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
Parallel translations
- KJV And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
- BSB When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently.
- NKJV When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
- NASB When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.
- NLT When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear.
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
Seeing the Philistine host, Saul is gripped by fear and trembling. His dread exposes a heart without God's assurance.
Overview
The sight of the enemy army fills Saul with deep terror, his heart trembling greatly. The fear reveals a man cut off from the LORD's peace, lacking the confidence that David found in God. Saul's panic drives him toward desperate, unlawful measures rather than humble repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 7:2David’s house was told, “Syria is allied with Ephraim.” His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind.
- Isa 21:3–4Therefore my thighs are filled with anguish. Pains have taken hold on me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am in so much pain that I can’t hear. I so am dismayed that I can’t see.
- Ps 48:5–6They saw it, then they were amazed. They were dismayed. They hurried away.
- Prov 10:24What the wicked fear, will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
- Ps 73:19How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.
- Isa 57:20–21But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can’t rest, and its waters cast up mire and mud.
- 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.
- Job 18:11Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall chase him at his heels.
- Job 15:21A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer shall come on him.
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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 28:5 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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