1 Samuel 14:30 - Printer Friendly

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."

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?"

NASB: How much more, if only the people had freely eaten today of the spoils of their enemies which they found! For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.'

CSB: How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater."

NLT: If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!'

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?

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?”

First Samuel 14:24–46 opens with Saul's declaration, in the form of an oath with a curse, that his troops must not eat until evening. Jonathan doesn't hear about the oath and eats honey during the day. The Lord remains silent when Saul asks if they should attack the Philistines by night. Lots cast to find a sinful person among them fall on Jonathan. Saul prepares to execute his son for breaking the oath, but the people refuse to allow this. The Israelites and the surviving Philistines go home.

God sparks panic among the Philistines after Jonathan boldly attacks and kills twenty of the enemy. When Saul sees the Philistines are scattering and killing each other, the Israelites pursue them out of the region. The Lord remains silent when Saul asks if they should attack the Philistines by night. Lots cast to reveal sin among them fall on Jonathan, who broke an oath of the king which he did not know about. The people refuse to allow Saul to execute Jonathan for this crime. Saul does not pursue the Philistines that night, but throughout his days as king he experiences success over them and other enemies such as the Moabites, Ammonites, Amalekites, and Edomites.

Saul has been anointed and reaffirmed as king (1 Samuel 9—12). Recently, his army amassed to fight the Philistines (1 Samuel 13). After a secret sneak attack, the Lord sparks panic among the entire Philistine army. The resulting chaos makes the Philistines fight and kill each other. The Israelites pursue, driving the Philistines out of the region. The people refuse to allow Saul to execute Jonathan, the man God used to save them from the Philistines. Throughout his kingship, Saul experiences success over enemies on every side (1 Samuel 15). However, he will also fall short of his obligations to God and eventually be replaced (1 Samuel 16).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.