1st Samuel Chapter 14 verse 16 Holy Bible
And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went `hither' and thither.
read chapter 14 in ASV
And the watchmen of Saul, looking out from Geba in the land of Benjamin, saw all the army flowing away and running here and there.
read chapter 14 in BBE
And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on slaying one another.
read chapter 14 in DARBY
And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
read chapter 14 in KJV
And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
read chapter 14 in WBT
The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went [here] and there.
read chapter 14 in WEB
And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin see, and lo, the multitude hath melted away, and it goeth on, and is beaten down.
read chapter 14 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 16. - The watchmen, etc. Condor says ('Tent Work,' 2:115), "The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin must have seen dearly across the chasm the extraordinary conflict of two men against a host, as the 'multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.' The noise in the host was also, no doubt, clearly heard at the distance of only two miles, and the army would have crossed the passage with comparatively little difficulty by the narrow path which leads down direct from Geba to Michmash, west of the Philistine camp. Thence the pursuit was towards Bethel, across the watershed, and headlong down the steep descent of Aijalon - that same pass where the first great victory of Joshua had been gained, and where the valiant Judas was once more, in later times, to drive back the enemies of Israel to the plains." The multitude. The Hebrew is, "And behold the tumult (the word is so rendered in ver. 19, margin) was reeling and going... and thither." Of course hither has dropped out of the text before and thither (comp. 1 Samuel 13:8). The Septuagint and Vulgate both read "hither and thither." Tumult means the din made by a confused mass of people, and so the crowd itself. Melted away does not give the exact meaning. The Philistines were not dispersing, but were reeling, moving to and fro purposeless, and in confusion. It may mean, however, to shake or melt with terror, as in Isaiah 14:31, where it is rendered art dissolved.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(16) And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked . . .--The distance between the outposts of the little Israelite army and the vast Philistine host was only about two miles, but a deep ravine or chasm lay between them. The watchmen of Saul were well able to see the scene of dire confusion in the outposts, a confusion which they could discern was rapidly spreading through the more distant camp of the main body.The Hebrew words, vay?leh vah?lom, in the last clause of the verse, have been variously rendered; the Rabbinical interpretation is the best: "magis magisque pangebatur"--"were more and more broken up." This takes h?lom as an infinitive absolute. The LXX. considers this word an adverb, and translates enthen hai enthen, hither and thither, and does not attempt to give any rendering for vay?leh.
