One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on an hill.
One thousand - Hebrew, 'elep (H505) 'echad. The "One" is emphatic. A thousand at once, or As one man.
(Shall flee) at the rebuke of one - the battle-cry of one.
At the rebuke of five shall ye (namely, all, in contrast to the "One thousand")
Flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain - ye shall flee in such confusion that even two shall not be left together, but each one shall be as solitary 'as a signal staff or a banner on a hill' (Isaiah 5:26; Isaiah 11:12). The signal-staff was erected to rally a nation in war. The remnant of Jews left would be beacons to warn all men of the justice of God and the truth of His threatenings. Maurer, from Leviticus 26:8; Deuteronomy 32:30, arbitrarily inserts (rebabah) 'ten thousand.' 'At the rebuke of five shall ten thousand of you flee.'