2 Samuel 5:23

23 David asked the LORD, and he answered, "Don't attack now, but circle around behind them, and come at them in front of the balsam trees.

2 Samuel 5:23 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 5:23

And when David inquired of the Lord
For though he had success before, and got the victory, he would not engage again with them without having the mind and will of God, on whom he knew victory alone depended:

he said, thou shalt not go up;
that is, directly, and in a straight line:

[but] fetch a compass behind them;
and get to the rear of them, instead of falling upon them in the front:

and come upon them over against the mulberry trees:
which grew in the valley of Rephaim, and near where the Philistines had pitched.

2 Samuel 5:23 In-Context

21 The Philistines left their idols there, so David and his men carried the idols away.

22 The Philistines again attacked and overran the valley of Rephaim.

23 David asked the LORD, and he answered, "Don't attack now, but circle around behind them, and come at them in front of the balsam trees.

24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act immediately because the LORD has gone ahead of you to defeat the Philistine army."

25 David did as the LORD ordered him and defeated the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.