New English Translation
1 Samuel 13:22
22So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
1 Samuel 13:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
- New International Version (NIV)So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.
Context of 1 Samuel 13:22
20So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles sharpened. 21They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. 23A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.
Read all of 1 Samuel 131 Samuel 13:22 word by word
וְהָיָה֙ בְּי֣וֹם מִלְחֶ֔מֶת וְלֹ֨א נִמְצָ֜א חֶ֤רֶב וַחֲנִית֙ בְּיַ֣ד כָּל־הָעָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶת־שָׁא֖וּל וְאֶת־יוֹנָתָ֑ן וַתִּמָּצֵ֣א לְשָׁא֔וּל וּלְיוֹנָתָ֖ן בְּנֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- So it came to pass in the dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- of battleמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- that there was neither swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- nor spearחֲנִיתchănîyth · spearH2595
- foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- in the handיָדyâd · handH3027
- of any of the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- with Saulשָׁאוּלshâ'ûl · SaulH7586
- and Jonathanיוֹנָתָןyônâthân · JonathanH3129
- his sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 13:22
- 1 Samuel 17:47and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.”
- Judges 5:8God chose new leaders, then fighters appeared in the city gates; but, I swear, not a shield or spear could be found, among forty military units in Israel.
- Zechariah 4:6Therefore he told me, “These signify the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord who rules over all.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:27But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong.
- 2 Corinthians 4:7But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 13:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22In the day of battle - these was neither sword nor spear - But if the Israelites enjoyed such profound peace and undisturbed dominion under Samuel, how is it that they were totally destitute of arms, a state which argues the lowest circumstances of oppression and vassalage? In answer to this we may observe, that the bow and the sling were the principal arms of the Israelites; for these they needed no smith: the most barbarous nations, who have never seen…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22This seems to be mentioned here, in anticipation of the narrative in the next chapter, to enhance the victory gained, through God‘s help 1 Samuel 14:23, by the comparatively unarmed Israelites over their enemies. What with occasional skirmishes with the Philistines, the necessity of using their arms for domestic purposes, accidental losses, and the ordinary wear and tear, coupled with the impossibility of renewing their arms from the want of smiths and…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-23Verses 15-23 See how politic the Philistines were when they had power; they not only prevented the people of Israel from making weapons of war, but obliged them to depend upon their enemies, even for instruments of husbandry. How impolitic Saul was, who did not, in the beginning of his reign, set himself to redress this. Want of true sense always accompanies want of grace. Sins which appear to us very little, have dangerous consequences. Miserable is a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-22no blacksmith: The Philistines prevented the Israelites from having weapons by controlling all the iron needed to make them. Iron technology was new in Canaan. It likely developed in the Aegean region and was brought to Canaan by seafaring people, like the Philistines.Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 13
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries