And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
Parallel translations
- WEB When Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried to Yahweh, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
- BSB When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets,
- NKJV And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets.
- NASB When Judah turned around, behold, they were attacked both from front and rear; so they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.
- NLT When Judah realized that they were being attacked from the front and the rear, they cried out to the Lord for help. Then the priests blew the trumpets,
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
Surrounded on both sides, Judah cries out to the LORD, and the priests sound the trumpets. In crisis, they turn to God in prayer.
Overview
Caught front and rear, Judah responds not with despair but by crying to the LORD while the priests blow the trumpets, as the law prescribed for going to war (Numbers 10:9). Their first recourse is to call on God for help. This pattern of turning to the LORD in desperate need is the heart of true faith and the very posture the gospel commends.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 2 Chr 14:11And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.
- Exod 14:10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
- Ps 91:5Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
- 2 Sam 10:8–14And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ishtob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field.
- Ps 50:15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
- Judg 20:33–43And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.
- Josh 8:20And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and, behold, the smoke of the city ascended up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that way: and the people that fled to the wilderness turned back upon the pursuers.
- 2 Chr 18:31And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.
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