1 Samuel 28:5
New International Version
When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart.

New Living Translation
When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear.

English Standard Version
When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Berean Standard Bible
When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently.

King James Bible
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.

New King James Version
When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

New American Standard Bible
When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

NASB 1995
When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

NASB 1977
When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

Legacy Standard Bible
Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.

Amplified Bible
When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and badly shaken.

Christian Standard Bible
When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid and his heart pounded.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid and trembled violently.

American Standard Version
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Shaul saw the encampment of the Philistines and was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, and he was alarmed, and his heart was greatly dismayed.

Contemporary English Version
Saul took one look at the Philistine army and started shaking with fear.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Saul saw the army of the Plilistines, and was afraid, and his heart was very much dismayed.

English Revised Version
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When Saul looked at the Philistine army, he was very afraid-terrified.

Good News Translation
When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was terrified,

International Standard Version
When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Literal Standard Version
and Saul sees the camp of the Philistines, and fears, and his heart trembles greatly,

Majority Standard Bible
When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently.

New American Bible
When Saul saw the Philistine camp, he grew afraid and lost heart completely.

NET Bible
When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified.

New Revised Standard Version
When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

New Heart English Bible
When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Webster's Bible Translation
And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.

World English Bible
When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Young's Literal Translation
and Saul seeth the camp of the Philistines, and feareth, and his heart trembleth greatly,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Philistines Gather Against Israel
4The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. 6He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 28:4
The Philistines came together and camped at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and camped at Gilboa.

1 Samuel 28:6
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.


Treasury of Scripture

And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.

he was afraid

Job 15:21
A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

Job 18:11
Terrors shall make him afraid on every side, and shall drive him to his feet.

Psalm 48:5,6
They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away…

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1 Samuel 28
1. Achish puts confidence in David
3. Saul having destroyed the witches
4. and now in his fear forsaken of God
7. has recourse to a witch
8. who, encouraged by Saul, raises up Samuel
15. Saul hearing his ruin, faints
21. The woman and his servants refresh him with meat














(5) He was afraid.--There is no doubt that Saul was discouraged when he viewed the enemy's ranks from the eminence of Gilboa. They were far more numerous than he had expected. But the real reason of his trembling must be looked for in the consciousness that God had forsaken him. Many of the well-known Israelite warriors had, during the late events, taken service with his dreaded rival, David, and David, he knew, was now the vassal of Achish, a Philistine king. We may imagine Saul, the forsaken of God, as be stood on the white chalk hill of Gilboa, gazing on the long lines of Philistine tents pitched on the opposite hill of Shunem, wondering if his old friend was there, with his mighty following, in the division of Gath.

Verses 5, 6. - When Saul saw, etc. It is plain from this that the Philistines had not forced their way up through the Israelite territory; for this was evidently Saul's first sight of their forces, and his alarm was caused by finding them so much larger than he had expected. He therefore in his anxiety enquired of Jehovah, but received no answer, neither by dreams. He had expected these to be vouchsafed, possibly to himself, but more probably to some class of prophets (see Jeremiah 23:25, where false prophets claim to have dreamed, in imitation no doubt of true prophets); but though dreams were thus recognised as a means for communicating God's will to man, yet, as Erdmann well remarks, "a subordinate position is certainly assigned in the Old Testament to the dream as the medium of the Divine influence on the inner life, which in sleep sinks into a state of passiveness." Nor by Urim. Though Abiathar after the massacre of his family had fled to David with the ephod, it is quite possible that Saul may have had another ephod made, and have set up a fresh sanctuary, perhaps at Gibeon, with Zadok, of the family of Eleazar, as high priest. This would account for Zadok being joined with Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, as one of two high priests early in David's reign (2 Samuel 8:17). It is remarkable, however, that Saul does not mention the Urim himself in ver. 15, and very probably it is named here not because the ephod was actually used, but as enumerating all the various ways by which men inquired of Jehovah. Nor by prophets. In his dee spair Saul may have turned to some reputed soothsayer present with the host, but his wilful life had alienated both priest and prophet from him. And this is the meaning of the passage in 1 Chronicles 10:14: "Saul enquired not of Jehovah; therefore he slew him." He may have gone through the form of inquiring, and certainly now would have been glad of an answer, but his whole mind was determinately set upon carrying out his own purposes, and he would never permit, after the first year or two of his reign, the royal prerogative to bend to the will of God.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When Saul
שָׁא֖וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

saw
וַיַּ֥רְא (way·yar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

the Philistine
פְלִשְׁתִּ֑ים (p̄ə·liš·tîm)
Noun - proper - masculine plural
Strong's 6430: Philistines -- inhabitants of Philistia

army,
מַחֲנֵ֣ה (ma·ḥă·nêh)
Noun - common singular construct
Strong's 4264: An encampment, an army

he
לִבּ֖וֹ (lib·bōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3820: The heart, the feelings, the will, the intellect, centre

was afraid
וַיִּרָ֕א (way·yi·rā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

and trembled
וַיֶּחֱרַ֥ד (way·ye·ḥĕ·raḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2729: To shudder with terror, to fear, to hasten

violently.
מְאֹֽד׃ (mə·’ōḏ)
Adverb
Strong's 3966: Vehemence, vehemently, wholly, speedily


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OT History: 1 Samuel 28:5 When Saul saw the army (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 28:4
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