Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageThe moment you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, charge into battle — for God Himself will have already gone out ahead of you to shatter the Philistine army."
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GWhen you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, go out to battle — for Elohim has gone out before you to strike down the army of the P'lishtim."
KJV
King James VersionAnd it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleAs soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move out to battle, because this will mean that God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.”
Footnotes
Hebrew *tse'adah* (צְעָדָה) — 'step, stride, marching advance' — evokes the rhythmic tread of an advancing army. The rustling treetops are understood as the sound of YHWH's heavenly host moving to war ahead of Israel. This is classic Divine Warrior theology: YHWH fights *before* His people (cf. Exod. 14:14; Deut. 20:4; Judg. 4:14). David is not the hero of this battle — he is given the signal to join a victory already in motion. FOG renders the sound plainly as 'marching'; FOG Message uses 'shatter' and the future-perfect framing ('will have already gone out') to capture the completeness of the divine advance.