1 Samuel 14:30

1 Samuel 14:30 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?
• New International Version (NIV)How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great."
• New King James Version (NKJV)How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?”

Context of 1 Samuel 14:30

28But one of the people told him, “Your father strictly put the people under an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’ ” And the people were exhausted [and hungry]. 29Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land [with his foolish curse]. See how my energy is restored because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better [it would have been] if only the people had eaten freely today from the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.” 31They struck the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very tired. 32[When night came and the oath ended] the people rushed greedily upon the spoil. They took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and they ate them [raw] with the blood [still in them].

1 Samuel 14:30 word by word

אַ֗ף כִּ֡י לוּא֩ אָכֹ֨ל אָכַ֤ל הַיּוֹם֙ הָעָ֔ם מִשְּׁלַ֥ל אֹיְבָ֖יו אֲשֶׁ֣ר מָצָ֑א כִּ֥י עַתָּ֛ה לֹֽא־רָבְתָ֥ה מַכָּ֖ה בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• How much moreאַף'aph · alsoH637
• if haplyלוּlû' lû' lû · ifH3863
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• had eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• to dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of the spoilשָׁלָלshâlâl · spoilH7998
• of their enemiesאֹיֵב'ôyêb 'ôyêb · enemyH341
• which they foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• for had there not been now a much greaterרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• slaughterמַכָּהmakkâh makkeh · woundH4347
• among the Philistinesפְּלִשְׁתִּיpelishtîy · PhilistineH6430

Cross-references for 1 Samuel 14:30

• Ecclesiastes 9:18Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 14:30

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 24-35Verses 24-35 Saul's severe order was very unwise; if it gained time, it lost strength for the pursuit. Such is the nature of our bodies, that daily work cannot be done without daily bread, which therefore our Father in heaven graciously gives. Saul was turning aside from God, and now he begins to build altars, being then most zealous, as many are, for the form of godliness when he was denying the power of it.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-52Saul's actions in this chapter further support his removal as king (1 Samuel 13:8–14; see also 15). Saul was estranged from both Samuel and his brave son Jonathan. 1 Samuel 14 foreshadows Jonathan's important role in the shift from Saul's rule to David's.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Samuel 14:30

• Jonathan

In the dictionaries

• Philistines
• Discomfiture
• Discover
• Enlighten
• Faulty
• Fight
• Flew
• Moabite
• Rescue
• Rod

Commentaries on 1 Samuel 14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings