Bible Strands
2 Samuel 5:19
So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?” “Go up,” replied the LORD, “for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David asks the LORD whether he should advance against the Philistines who have spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, and the LORD commands him to go up with a promise of deliverance.
The words — The Hebrew וַיִּשְׁאַל (va-i.yish.'Al) literally means "and he inquired," recording David's direct consultation of Yahweh before engagement. The phrase הֲתִתֵּנֵם (ha-ti.te.Ne/m) translates as "will you give them," framing the outcome as dependent on divine transfer of authority.
The thread — David's pre-battle inquiry follows the same pattern recorded in 2 Samuel 2:1, 1 Samuel 23:2, and the Israelite question in Judges 20:28.
Why it lands — The text states that military action requires explicit divine command and guarantees victory only when Yahweh transfers the enemy into the commander's hand. It demands immediate compliance with that directive without reliance on human assessment.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 2:1 Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 23:2 So David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go and attack these Philistines?” And the LORD said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.”
- Judges 20:28 and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered, “Fight, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand.”
- 2 Samuel 5:23 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.
- Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
- 1 Samuel 23:4 Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- 1 Samuel 30:7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought it to him,
- 1 Kings 22:15 When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” “Go up and triumph,” Micaiah replied, “for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- 1 Kings 22:6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
- James 4:15 Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”