1 Samuel 14
14
1One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to the officer who carried his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine camp on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
2Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at the threshing floor near Gibeah. He had about six hundred men with him. 3One man was Ahijah who was wearing the holy vest. (Ahijah was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.) No one knew Jonathan had left.
4There was a steep slope on each side of the pass that Jonathan planned to go through to reach the Philistine camp. The cliff on one side was named Bozez, and the cliff on the other side was named Seneh. 5One cliff faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.
6Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, “Come. Let’s go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the Lord will help us. The Lord can give us victory if we have many people, or just a few.”
7The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. I’m with you.”
8Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us. 9If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. 10But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, and the Lord will let us defeat them. This will be the sign for us.”
11When both Jonathan and his officer let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” 12The Philistines in the camp shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. We’ll teach you a lesson!”
Jonathan said to his officer, “Climb up behind me, because the Lord has given the Philistines to Israel!” 13So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines as he went, and his officer killed them as he followed behind him. 14In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a half acre of ground.
15All the Philistine soldiers panicked—those in the camp and those in the raiding party. The ground itself shook! God had caused the panic.
16Saul’s guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin when they saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction. 17Saul said to his army, “Check to see who has left our camp.” When they checked, they learned that Jonathan and his officer were gone.
18So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the Ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) 19While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Put your hand down!”
20Then Saul gathered his army and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, striking each other with their swords! 21Earlier, there were Hebrews who had served the Philistines and had stayed in their camp, but now they joined the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. 22When all the Israelites hidden in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away, they also joined the battle and chased the Philistines. 23So the Lord saved the Israelites that day, and the battle moved on past Beth Aven.
Saul Makes Another Mistake
24The men of Israel were miserable that day because Saul had made an oath for all of them. He had said, “No one should eat food before evening and before I finish defeating my enemies. If he does, he will be cursed!” So no Israelite soldier ate food.
25Now the army went into the woods, where there was some honey on the ground. 26They came upon some honey, but no one took any because they were afraid of the oath. 27Jonathan had not heard the oath Saul had put on the army, so he dipped the end of his stick into the honey and lifted some out and ate it. Then he felt better. 28Then one of the soldiers told Jonathan, “Your father made an oath for all the soldiers. He said any man who eats today will be cursed! That’s why they are so weak.”
29Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the land! See how much better I feel after just tasting a little of this honey! 30It would have been much better for the men to eat the food they took from their enemies today. We could have killed many more Philistines!”
31That day the Israelites defeated the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon. After that, they were very tired. 32They had taken sheep, cattle, and calves from the Philistines. Now they were so hungry they killed the animals on the ground and ate them, without draining the blood from them! 33Someone said to Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. They’re eating meat without draining the blood from it!”
Saul said, “You have sinned! Roll a large stone over here now!” 34Then he said, “Go to the men and tell them that each person must bring his ox and sheep to me and kill it here and eat it. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating meat without draining the blood from it.”
That night everyone brought his animals and killed them there. 35Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar he had built to the Lord.
36Saul said, “Let’s go after the Philistines tonight and rob them. We won’t let any of them live!”
The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”
But the priest said, “Let’s ask God.”
37So Saul asked God, “Should I chase the Philistines? Will you let us defeat them?” But God did not answer Saul at that time. 38Then Saul said to all the leaders of his army, “Come here. Let’s find out what sin has been done today. 39As surely as the Lord lives who has saved Israel, even if my son Jonathan did the sin, he must die.” But no one in the army spoke.
40Then Saul said to all the Israelites, “You stand on this side. I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.”
The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”
41Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give me the right answer.”
And Saul and Jonathan were picked; the other men went free. 42Saul said, “Now let us discover if it is I or Jonathan my son who is guilty.” And Jonathan was picked.
43Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told Saul, “I only tasted a little honey from the end of my stick. And must I die now?”
44Saul said, “Jonathan, if you don’t die, may God punish me terribly.”
45But the soldiers said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? Never! He is responsible for saving Israel today! As surely as the Lord lives, not even a hair of his head will fall to the ground! Today Jonathan fought against the Philistines with God’s help!” So the army saved Jonathan, and he did not die.
46Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and they went back to their own land.
Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies
47When Saul became king over Israel, he fought against Israel’s enemies all around. He fought Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the king of Zobah, and the Philistines. Everywhere Saul went he defeated Israel’s enemies. 48He fought bravely and defeated the Amalekites. He saved the Israelites from their enemies who had robbed them.
49Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. His older daughter was named Merab, and his younger daughter was named Michal. 50Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52All Saul’s life he fought hard against the Philistines. When he saw strong or brave men, he took them into his army.
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1 Samuel 14: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Samuel 14
14
Jonathan’s Daring Valor
1One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man carrying his armor, “Come, let’s cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that’s on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
2Now Saul was sitting on the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron, and the troops with him were about 600 men.
3Ahijah son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas son of Eli, the kohen of Adonai in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the troops did not know that Jonathan was gone.
4Between the crossings by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a rocky crag on one side and another rocky crag on the other side—one was called Bozez and the other Seneh.
5One crag was to the north near Michmas, and the other to the south near Geba.
6Then Jonathan said to the young man carrying his armor, “Come, let’s cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised ones. Perhaps Adonai will work for us, for nothing restrains Adonai from delivering whether by many or by few.”
7His armor-bearer answered him, “Do whatever is in your heart; go ahead—I’m with you whatever your heart decides.”
8Then Jonathan said, “Here, we’ll cross over to the men, then let them see us.
9If they say to us: ‘Wait till we come to you,’ then we’ll stand still in our place and will not go up to them.
10But if they say, ‘Come up to us!’ then we will go up, for Adonai has delivered them into our hand—that will be our sign.”
11So they both let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison. “Look, some Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they were hiding,” the Philistines said.
12So the men of the garrison shouted down to Jonathan and his armor-bearer saying, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson!” Then Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Follow me, for Adonai has handed them over to Israel!”
13So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer behind him. Then they fell before Jonathan, his armor-bearer behind him finishing them off.
14That first assault that Jonathan and his armor-bearer made struck down about 20 men within about half a furrow in an acre of land.
15Terror then spread through the camp, in the field, and among all the troops. Even the outposts and the raiders also trembled, when the earth quaked—it was a trembling from God.
16Now Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin saw the throng scattering away in every direction.
17So Saul said to the people who were with him, “Call the roll now and see who went from us.” When they called the roll, behold Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.
18Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God at that time was with Bnei-Yisrael.
19But while Saul was talking to the kohen, the commotion in the Philistine camp kept increasing, so Saul said to the kohen, “Withdraw your hand.”
20Then Saul and all the people with him rallied and rushed into the battle. Behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow in utter confusion!
21Now there were Hebrews who had defected to the Philistines previously and had gone up with them to their camp round about—even they joined the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
22Also when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they also chased after them in the battle.
23So Adonai delivered Israel that day. The battle spread as far as Beth-aven.
Saul’s Rash Vow
24Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed that day, for Saul put the people under oath saying, “Cursed be the man that eats any food before evening, until I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the people tasted food.
25But when all the people of the land entered the forest, there was honey on the ground.
26When the people entered the forest, indeed, there was a flow of honey, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
27But Jonathan had not heard when his father made the people swear the oath. So he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb, put his hand to his mouth—and his eyes brightened.
28Then, one of the soldiers told him, “Your father strictly put the people under oath saying: ‘Cursed be the man that eats food today.’ But the troops are exhausted.”
29Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the people. Just look how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much more, if only the troops had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found? Wouldn’t the slaughter among the Philistines have then been greater?”
31That day they struck down the Philistines from Michmas to Aijalon, though the people were so weary.
32Then the people rushed greedily upon the plunder, took sheep, oxen and calves, butchered them on the ground, and the people ate them with the blood.
33Then they reported to Saul saying, “Behold, the people are sinning against Adonai by eating with the blood.” “You have acted faithlessly,” he said. “Roll a great stone towards me at once.”
34Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and tell them: ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and butcher them here and eat. Don’t sin against Adonai by eating with the blood.’” So all the people each brought his ox with him that night and butchered it there.
35Then Saul built an altar to Adonai; it was the first altar that he built to Adonai.
36Then Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light, we won’t leave any survivors among them.” “Do whatever seems good in your eyes,” they replied. Then the kohen said, “Let us draw near to God here.”
37So Saul inquired of God, “Should I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day.
38Then Saul said, “Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people; investigate and see how this sin was committed today.
39For as Adonai—Israel’s deliverer—lives, even if it was by my son Jonathan, he will surely die.” But not one among all the people answered him.
40So he said to all Israel, “You stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.” “Do what seems good in your eyes,” said the people to Saul.
41So Saul said to Adonai, “God of Israel, grant a perfect lot.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen, but the people were cleared.
42Then Saul said, “Cast the lots between me and my son Jonathan,” and Jonathan was taken.
43Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you’ve done.” Jonathan told him saying, “I certainly did taste a little honey—with the end of the rod that was in my hand. Here I am—I must die!”
44“May God do so to me and even more,” Saul said. “You must surely die, Jonathan.”
45But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? It was he who brought about this great deliverance in Israel! Far be it! As Adonai lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground! For he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die.
46Then Saul broke off pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own country.
47After Saul had secured his kingship over Israel, he waged war against all his enemies on every side—against Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he punished them.
48He did so with valor, defeating the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.
49Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malchi-shua; and the names of his two daughters were: the name of the firstborn Merab and the name of the younger Michal.
50The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.
51Kish was Saul’s father, and Abner’s father was Ner son of Abiel.
52Now there was bitter war against the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw any mighty man or any son of valor, he would gather him to himself.
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