1 Samuel 14:12

12 And men of the station spake to Jonathan and to his squire, and said, Go ye up to us, and we shall show to you a thing. And Jonathan said to his squire, Ascend we, follow thou me; for the Lord hath betaken them into the hands of Israel. (And the men of the station said to Jonathan and his squire, Come ye over to us, and we shall show you a thing or two. And Jonathan said to his squire, Go we up to them, follow thou me; for the Lord hath delivered them into the hands of Israel.)

1 Samuel 14:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 14:12

And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his
armourbearer
The guards that were set to watch the garrison, who descrying them, called to them, and said:

come up to us, and we will show you a thing;
we have something to say to you, a pretty thing to show you, when you shall pay dear for your boldness and impudence, in daring to come so near; not imagining that they could come, or would dare to attempt to come any further:

and Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, come up after me;
follow me, and never fear but we will find a way to come up to them, however difficult it may be:

for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel;
he knew by their language that God had given them a spirit of fear, that they durst not come out of their hold, and come down to them; and that he had cast them into a spirit of security and vain confidence, that they could never come at them, and give them any trouble; and from thence he concluded deliverance was at hand for the people of Israel, he seeking not his own private interest and glory, but the public good; and which he was ready to ascribe not to his own valour and courage, but to the power, kindness, and goodness of God.

1 Samuel 14:12 In-Context

10 And if they say, Go ye up to us; go we up to them, for the Lord hath betaken them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us. (But if they say, Come ye up to us; then we shall go up to them, for the Lord hath delivered them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us.)

11 Therefore ever either appeared to the station of Philistines (And so they both appeared before the Philistines? station); and the Philistines said, Lo! the Hebrews go out of [the] caves, in which they were hid.

12 And men of the station spake to Jonathan and to his squire, and said, Go ye up to us, and we shall show to you a thing. And Jonathan said to his squire, Ascend we, follow thou me; for the Lord hath betaken them into the hands of Israel. (And the men of the station said to Jonathan and his squire, Come ye over to us, and we shall show you a thing or two. And Jonathan said to his squire, Go we up to them, follow thou me; for the Lord hath delivered them into the hands of Israel.)

13 And Jonathan went up, creeping on hands and feet, and his squire after him; and when they had seen the face of Jonathan, some felled down before Jonathan, his squire killed others, and followed him (and when they were face to face with Jonathan, he killed some, and his squire killed some others, following his master).

14 And the first wound was made, which Jonathan and his squire smote, as of twenty men, in the middle part of land, which a pair of oxen was wont to ear in the day. (And so the first attack was made, in which Jonathan and his squire killed about twenty men, in the middle part of a field which a pair of oxen could plow in a day.)