And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:

And there went out of the camp of the Philistines three companies to plunder. One company went towards the way of Ephra to the land of Sual;

And the ravagers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned the way of Ophrah, into the land of Shual;

And the destroyer goeth out from the camp of the Philistines, three detachments; the one detachment turneth unto the way of Ophrah, unto the land of Shual;

And three bands of men came out from the Philistines to make an attack; one band went by the road which goes to Ophrah, into the land of Shual:

And three companies went out from the camp of the Philistines, in order to plunder. One company was traveling toward the way of Ophrah, to the land of Shual.

The spoilers - "The devastator:" the same word is used of the destroying Angel Exodus 12:23. The verse describes the system adopted by the Philistines by which for a time they subjugated the Israelites. From their central camp at Michmash they sent out three bands to kill and lay waste and destroy. One took a northerly direction toward Ophrah - five miles east of Bethel, identified with "Ephrain" 2-Chronicles 13:19 and the modern "Taiyibeh," - and toward the land of Shual, possibly the same as Shalim 1-Samuel 9:4; the second westward to Beth-horon; and the third eastward, by the unknown valley of Zeboim, toward the wilderness, i. e., the Jordan valley, toward Jericho.

The spoilers came out - The Philistines, finding that the Israelites durst not hazard a battle, divided their army into three bands, and sent them in three different directions to pillage and destroy the country. Jonathan profited by this circumstance, and attacked the remains of the army at Michmash, as we shall see in the succeeding chapter, 1 Samuel 14 (note).

And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies,.... Saul not daring to come out to fight them, and there being none throughout the land to oppose them, they sent out three companies of soldiers to ravage and spoil the country; of so little use and service was a king to Israel, they were so extremely desirous of; and this was suffered, to convince them of their vain confidence in him, and that their trust ought to be in the Lord their God; never was their country more exposed to rapine and violence than now:
one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah; a city in the land of Benjamin, of which see Joshua 18:23 and lay southwest from Michmash, where the army of the Philistines were:
unto the land of Shual: which the Targum paraphrases,"the land of the south;''it seems to have had its name from the multitude of foxes in it, Shual signifying a fox.

the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies--ravaging through the three valleys which radiate from the uplands of Michmash to Ophrah on the north, through the pass of Beth-horon on the west, and down the ravines of Zeboim ("the hyÃ&brvbr;nas"), towards the Ghor or Jordan valley on the east.