1 Samuel 13:22

The NET Bible®

So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops who were with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

Hebrew Names Version
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Sha'ul and Yonatan: but with Sha'ul and with Yonatan his son was there found.

King James Version
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

Lexham English Bible
So on the day of battle, there was not a sword or a spear found in the hands of all the army that was with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

English Standard Version
So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.

New Century Version
So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Amplified Bible
So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.

New American Standard Bible
So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.

Geneva Bible (1587)
So whe the day of battell was come, there was neither sworde nor speare founde in the handes of any of the people that were with Saul and with Ionathan: but onely with Saul and Ionathan his sonne was there founde.

Legacy Standard Bible
So it happened on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.

Contemporary English Version
So, whenever the Israelite soldiers had to go into battle, none of them had a sword or a spear except Saul and his son Jonathan.

Complete Jewish Bible
Thus when the time came to fight, no one in the army of Sha'ul and Y'honatan was equipped with either sword or spear; although Sha'ul and Y'honatan his son did have them.

Darby Translation
And it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and with Jonathan his son there was found.

Easy-to-Read Version
So on the day of battle, none of the Israelite soldiers with Saul had iron swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had such weapons.

George Lamsa Translation
So in the day of the battle, there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.

Good News Translation
And so on the day of battle none of the Israelite soldiers except Saul and his son Jonathan had swords or spears.

Literal Translation
And it happened in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan. But one was found with Saul and with his son Jonathan.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now whan the daye of the battayll came, there was nether swerde ner speare founde in the hande of all the people, that was with Saul and Ionathas: but for Saul and Ionathas his sonne there was somwhat founde.

American Standard Version
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

Bible in Basic English
So on the day of the fight at Michmash, not a sword or a spear was to be seen in the hands of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan: only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And so in time of battel there was neither sword nor speare found in the handes of any of the people that were with Saul and Ionathan: But with Saul & Ionathan his sonne was there found.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

King James Version (1611)
So it came to passe in the day of battell, that there was neither sword nor speare found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Ionathan: but with Saul & with Ionathan his sonne was there found.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass in the days of the war of Machmas, that there was not a sword or spear found in the hand of all the people, that were with Saul and Jonathan; but with Saul and Jonathan his son was there found.

English Revised Version
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

Berean Standard Bible
So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne the dai of batel cam, no swerd and spere was foundun in the hond of al the puple that was with Saul and Jonathas, outakun Saul, and Jonathas his sone.

Young's Literal Translation
And it hath been, in the day of battle, that there hath not been found sword and spear in the hand of any of the people who [are] with Saul and with Jonathan -- and there is found to Saul and to Jonathan his son.

Update Bible Version
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son there was found.

Webster's Bible Translation
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that [were] with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

World English Bible
So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

New King James Version
So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son.

New Living Translation
So on the day of the battle none of the people of Israel had a sword or spear, except for Saul and Jonathan.

New Life Bible
So on the day of battle there was no sword or spear in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan. But Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

New Revised Standard
So on the day of the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thus would it come to pass, in the day of battle, that there was found - neither sword nor spear, in the hand of any of the people, that were with Saul and Jonathan, but such were found belonging to Saul and to Jonathan his son.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the day of battle was come, there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan, except Saul and Jonathan his son.

Revised Standard Version
So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men. ¹⁶ Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. ¹⁷ Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual; ¹⁸ another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert. ¹⁹ A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears." ²⁰ So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles sharpened. ²¹ They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. ²² So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. ²³ A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

there was neither: 1 Samuel 17:47, 1 Samuel 17:50, Judges 5:8, Zechariah 4:6, 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, 2 Corinthians 4:7

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 14:1 - Jonathan 1 Chronicles 9:39 - and Saul

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So it came to pass in the day of battle,.... When that drew near, and they were called to it, and obliged to fight or flee, or surrender:

that there were neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: which was not owing to their leaving them behind in the camp, or casting them away from them through fear, as they followed Saul with trembling, but to the cause now mentioned. In what manner some preceding battles were fought with the Philistines and Ammonites, notwithstanding, have been accounted for on

1 Samuel 13:19, but it is strange that the Israelites did not furnish themselves with the arms of the Philistines at the defeat of them in Ebenezer, 1 Samuel 7:10 and with the arms of the Ammonites at Jabeshgilead, 1 Samuel 11:11 and that such a warlike prince as Saul appeared at his first setting out to be should not in the first place take care to provide armour for his men by some means or another; for that those that left him should have arms, and not those that abode with him, does not seem reasonable. It may be the Benjamites, being expert in slinging, were indifferent to and neglected the use of any other weapon, or method of fighting:

but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found; swords and spears, and with them only.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This seems to be mentioned here, in anticipation of the narrative in the next chapter, to enhance the victory gained, through God’s help 1 Samuel 14:23, by the comparatively unarmed Israelites over their enemies. What with occasional skirmishes with the Philistines, the necessity of using their arms for domestic purposes, accidental losses, and the ordinary wear and tear, coupled with the impossibility of renewing their arms from the want of smiths and forges, the people that were with Saul and Jonathan came to be very imperfectly armed. It has been observed, moreover, that the Benjamites were more famous for the use of the sling than for any other weapon Judges 20:16, and this would be an additional cause of the paucity of swords and spears.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Samuel 13:22. In the day of battle - these was neither sword nor spear — But if the Israelites enjoyed such profound peace and undisturbed dominion under Samuel, how is it that they were totally destitute of arms, a state which argues the lowest circumstances of oppression and vassalage? In answer to this we may observe, that the bow and the sling were the principal arms of the Israelites; for these they needed no smith: the most barbarous nations, who have never seen iron, have nevertheless bows and arrows; the arrow heads generally made of flint. Arrows of this kind are found among the inhabitants of the South Sea islands; and even axes, and different implements of war, all made of stone, cut and polished by stone, are frequent among them. The arms of the aboriginal Irish have been of this kind. I have frequently seen heads of axes and arrows of stone, which have been dug up out of the ground, formed with considerable taste and elegance. The former the common people term thunderbolts; the latter, elf-stones. Several of these from Ireland, from Zetland, and from the South Sea islands, are now before me.

Now it is possible that the Israelites had still bows and arrows: these they could have without the smith; and it is as likely that they had slings, and for these they needed none. But then these were missiles; if they came into close fight, they would avail them nothing: for attacks of this kind they would require swords and spears; of these none were found but with Saul and Jonathan.

WE see, in this chapter, Israel brought to as low a state as they were under Eli; when they were totally discomfited, their priests slain, their ark taken, and the judge dead. After that, they rose by the strong hand of God; and in this way they are now to rise, principally by means of David, whose history will soon commence.