New King James Version
1 Samuel 14:25
25Now all the people of the land came to a 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 Living Translation (NLT)even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest.
Context of 1 Samuel 14:25
23So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven. 24And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground. 26And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.
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 9:28lest the land from which You brought us should say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.”
- Matthew 3:5Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him
- Exodus 3:8So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
- Numbers 13:27Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
- Matthew 3:4Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries