2 Samuel 5:23

23 When David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come upon them opposite 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 abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.

22 Once again the Philistines came up, and were spread out in the valley of Rephaim.

23 When David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees.

24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines."

25 David did just as the Lord had commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.