There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.
Parallel Translations
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There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.
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And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
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And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
Cross-references (2)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 14:52 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 8:11 He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots.
- 1 Samuel 8:1 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain As Samuel had forewarned, 1 Sam. 8:11.
As Samuel had forewarned, 1 Sam. 8:11.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 14:52 And there was sore war against the…
1Sa 14:52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
Ver. 52. And when Saul saw any strong man.] Robustum et pugnacem. This was not amiss, had he not placed too much confidence in them, as indeed he did.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Into his service, or army.
Into his service, or army.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And there was sore war against the Philistines all…
And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul,.... For notwithstanding the late victory over them, and slaughter made among them, they recovered themselves, and came out again to battle, and gave Saul a great deal of trouble, and he at last died in battle with them:
and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him; to be his bodyguard, as Josephus (q) says; or for soldiers and officers in his army, even such, as the same writer observes, that exceeded others in comeliness of person, and in largeness and height; such as were in some measure like himself, that were strong, able bodied men, and of courage, and valour, and fortitude of mind.
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(q) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 6. sect. 5.)
Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 15
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 52. When Saul saw any strong man] This…
Verse 52. When Saul saw any strong man] This was very politic. He thus continued to recruit his army with strong and effective men.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 14:52. When Saul saw any strong man, he…
1Sa 14:52. When Saul saw any strong man, he took him — That is, when he saw any one behave well in battle, or of great strength, he took him into his band to be near to him on all occasions, and to go out to battle with him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 52. Sore war… all the days of Saul —…
52. Sore war… all the days of Saul — This statement is given as a reason why Saul pressed into his service every strong man of mark. In this he acted the part of a prudent general.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 52. he took him] to serve in his permanent…
52. he took him] to serve in his permanent corps of picked soldiers (1Sa_13:4).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (52) All the days of Saul.—Although after the rout…
(52) All the days of Saul.—Although after the rout of Michmash the Philistines were driven out of their fastnesses in the land of Israel back into their own coast districts, yet all through the reign of Saul they continued to be powerful, and were a constant source of danger and trouble to the people. We know that in the end Saul lost his life in an engagement with this warlike and restless race, who were not finally crushed before the days of his successor, David. To keep them in check necessitated the maintenance of a standing army, which, in the days of David, became one of the great armed forces of the East. The reader of this verse is reminded at once of a similar military fancy of King Frederick William of Prussia, the founder of Prussian military greatness, and the father of the Great Frederick.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The summary ends with two important particulars respecting Saul"s…
The summary ends with two important particulars respecting Saul"s kingdom the first, that the Philistines were powerful and dangerous enemies to Israel all his days; the second, that in order to carry on the war with them he ever kept around him the nucleus of a standing army. In thus forming a "school of heroes" he raised the whole spirit of the people, and took an essential and necessary step for maintaining Israel"s freedom. With much of the despot in him, Saul had grand qualities as a soldier, and for many years admirably fulfilled the primary object for which he was chosen. And while he was thus giving the nation internal security, Samuel was teaching it how to use its growing prosperity, and was raising it in the scale of intellectual worth. If in the time of the judges we have Israel in its boyhood, as in the Sinaitic desert we have it in its infancy, under Saul and Samuel it reached its manhood, and became a powerful, vigorous, and well ordered community, able to maintain its freedom, and with means for its internal development in the schools of the prophets, which ended in making it not merely enlightened itself, but the giver of light to the rest of mankind.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 all the days of Saul
all the days of Saul
"all of Saul's life"
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he attached him to himself
"he forced him to join his army"
translationWords
Saul (OT)
might
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:52 Saul had easily defeated the Ammonites (11:11) but…
14:52 Saul had easily defeated the Ammonites (11:11) but was having much less success with the Philistines, given their well-organized fighting machine and their monopoly on iron and bronze (13:19-22). • he drafted him: Samuel had warned earlier that the king would take people as well as possessions (8:11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.