New English Translation
1 Samuel 14:25
25Now the whole army entered the forest and there was honey on the ground.
1 Samuel 14:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
- New International Version (NIV)The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground.
Context of 1 Samuel 14:25
23So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. 24Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!” So no one in the army ate anything. Now the whole army entered the forest and there was honey on the ground. 26When the army entered the forest, they saw the honey flowing, but no one ate any of it, for the army was afraid of the oath. 27But Jonathan had not heard about the oath his father had made the army take. He extended the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. When he ate it, his eyes gleamed.
Read all of 1 Samuel 141 Samuel 14:25 word by word
וְכָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ בָּ֣אוּ בַיָּ֑עַר וַיְהִ֥י דְבַ֖שׁ עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Samuel 14:25
- Deuteronomy 9:28Otherwise the people of the land from which you brought us will say, “The Lord was unable to bring them to the land he promised them, and because of his hatred for them he has brought them out to kill them in the desert.”
- Matthew 3:5Then people from Jerusalem, as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him,
- Exodus 3:8I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Numbers 13:27They told Moses, “We went to the land where you sent us. It is indeed flowing with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
- Matthew 3:4Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
Commentaries on 1 Samuel 14:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25There was honey upon the ground - There were many wild bees in that country, and Judea is expressly said to be a land flowing with milk and honey.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25All they of the land - literally, all the land, probably meaning all those named in 1 Samuel 14:21-22, who now flocked to the wood as a rendezvous.Read the comment
- 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
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey--The honey is described as "upon the ground," "dropping" from the trees, and in honeycombs--indicating it to be bees' honey. "Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are all in a wild state. The forests literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging on the trees as you pass along, full of honey" [Roberts].Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Samuel 14:25
In the dictionaries
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
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Commentaries