וַיִּזָּעֵ֣ק שָׁא֗וּל וְכָל־הָעָם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתּ֔וֹ וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ עַד־הַמִּלְחָמָ֑ה וְהִנֵּ֨ה הָיְתָ֜ה חֶ֤רֶב אִישׁ֙ בְּרֵעֵ֔הוּ מְהוּמָ֖ה גְּדוֹלָ֥ה מְאֹֽד׃
20Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle, and every sword was against the other, so that there was very great confusion.
the Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “sword” in English is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “machete that is sharp on two sides,” in Lalana Chinantec as “machete” and in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “knife.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
See also two-edged sword.
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Saul” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Saul .
The people who were with him: see verses 2 and 17.
Rallied: the Hebrew is literally a passive form of the verb meaning “to cry out.” But in this context it refers to “being called together.” In languages that naturally use the passive form, translators may say “the army was assembled.” Where the passive is not an option, a possible model for translating this verb may be “[Saul] called his army together” (Contemporary English Version).
Behold: the focusing particle here highlights the unusual fact that the Philistines were killing each other.
Every man’s sword was against his fellow: that is, the Philistine soldiers were killing each other. See the similar expression in Judges 7.22. Klein captures the force of the interjection behold as follows: “Surprisingly, the sword of each man [of the Philistines] was turned against his companion—a very great confusion.” Contemporary English Version provides a simpler, common-language equivalent with “By this time the Philistines were so confused that they were killing each other.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .