2 Samuel 5:23
And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
2 Samuel 5:23 in other translations
| BSB | So David inquired of the LORD, who answered, “Do not march straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. |
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| WEB | When David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up. Circle around behind them, and attack them in front of the mulberry trees. |
| ASV | And when David inquired of Jehovah, he said, Thou shalt not go up: make a circuit behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry-trees. |
| YLT | and David asketh of Jehovah, and He saith, ‘Thou dost not go up, turn round unto their rear, and thou hast come to them over-against the mulberries, |
| DARBY | And David inquired of Jehovah; and he said, Thou shalt not go up; turn round behind them and come upon them opposite the mulberry-trees. |
| BBE | And when David went for directions to the Lord, he said, You are not to go up against them in front; but make a circle round them from the back and come on them opposite the spice-trees. |
| Webster | And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up: but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry-trees. |
What does 2 Samuel 5:23 mean?
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 5:17-25
The Philistines considered not that David had the presence of God with him, which Saul had forfeited and lost. The kingdom of the Messiah, as soon as it was set up in the world, was thus attacked by the powers of darkness. The heathen raged, and the kings of the earth set themselves to oppose it; but all in vain, Psa 2:1, &c. The destruction will turn, as this did, upon Satan's own kingdom. David owns dependence on…
2 Samuel 5:23 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for 2 Samuel 5:23
- 1 Chronicles 14:14
Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
- John 9:6-7
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
- Matthew 8:23-25
And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.
- Matthew 9:29-30
Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.
- Joshua 8:2
And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take for a prey unto yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.
- Joshua 8:7
Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
19
fetch.
Jos 8:2,7; 1Ch 14:14; Mt 9:29,30; 8:23-25; Joh 9:6,7
the mulberry trees.The word {bechaïm,} rendered mulberry trees, is rendered by Aquila, [apion,] pear-trees, as the LXX. also render in 1 Ch 14:14, 15; and so the Vulgate in both places has {pyrorum.} The Rabbins, however, believe {bacha} signifies the mulberry-tree; with whom Ursinus agrees. It more probably denotes a large shrub which the Arabs still call {baca,} from its distilling an odoriferous gum, from {bachah} to distil, as tears. Of this opinion is Celsius, who quotes a passage from Abulfadi, who describes it as a balsam shrub, having longish leaves, and bearing a large fruit with an acrid taste. M. Forskal mentions a tree by the name of {bæca,} with leaves rather ovated, smooth, entire: its berries are poisonous to the sheep.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- 2 Samuel 5:22
And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
- 2 Samuel 5:23
And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
- 2 Samuel 5:24
And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
2 Samuel 5:23 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y consultando David á Jehová, él le respondió: No subas; mas rodéalos, y vendrás á ellos por delante de los morales: |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et David interrogea l’ Éternel. Et il dit: Tu ne monteras pas; tourne-les par-derrière, et tu viendras contre eux vis-à-vis des mûriers; |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und David befragte Jehova; und er sprach: Du sollst nicht hinaufziehen; wende dich ihnen in den Rücken, daß du an sie kommst den Bakabäumen gegenüber. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Consuluit autem David Dominum: Si ascendam contra Philisthæos, et tradas eos in manus meas? Qui respondit: Non ascendas contra eos, sed gyra post tergum eorum, et venies ad eos ex adverso pyrorum. |