1 Samuel 14
14
1One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, spoke to the officer who carried his armor. Jonathan said, “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 600 men with him. 3One man was Ahijah, who was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, Eli’s son. Eli was the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. He wore the holy vest. No one knew Jonathan had left.
4There was a steep slope on each side of the pass. Jonathan planned to go through the pass to the Philistine camp. The cliff on one side was named Bozez. The other cliff 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. It doesn’t matter if we have many people, or just a few. Nothing can keep the Lord from giving us victory.”
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. We will let them see us. 9They may say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you.’ If they do, we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. 10But they may say, ‘Come up to us.’ If so, we will climb up. And the Lord will allow us to defeat them. This will be the sign for us.”
11Both 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. The Lord has given the Philistines to Israel!” 13So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet. His officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan cut down the Philistines as he went. And his officer killed them as he followed behind Jonathan. 14In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about 20 Philistines.
15All the Philistine soldiers panicked. Those in the camp and those in the raiding party were frightened. The ground itself shook! God caused the panic.
16Saul’s guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. They saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction. 17Saul said to his army, “Check and find 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 the Covenant 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, “Stop. There’s not time to pray now!”
20Then Saul and the army with him gathered and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, even striking each other with their swords! 21Earlier, there were Hebrews who had served the Philistines and had stayed in their camp. They now joined the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. 22All the Israelites hidden in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away. They too 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. This was 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. There was some honey on the ground. 26They came to where the honey was. But no one took any because they were afraid of the oath. 27But Jonathan had not heard the oath Saul had put on the people. So Jonathan dipped the end of his stick into the honey. He pulled out the honey and ate it. Then he felt better. 28So 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 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 they did this, 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. But the blood was still in the animals! 33Someone said to Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. They’re eating meat that still has blood in it!”
Saul said, “You have sinned! Roll a large stone over here now!” 34Then he said, “Go to the men. Tell them that each person must bring his ox and sheep to me. They must kill and eat their ox and sheep here. Don’t sin against the Lord. Don’t eat meat with the blood still in it.”
That night everyone brought his animals and killed them there. 35Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar Saul had built to the Lord.
36Saul said, “Let’s go after the Philistines tonight. Let’s take what they own. 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 that day God did not answer Saul. 38That is why Saul said to all the leaders of his army, “Come here. Let’s find what sin has been done today. 39As surely as the Lord lives, even if my son Jonathan did the sin, he must die.” But no one in the army answered.
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 chosen by throwing lots. The other men went free. 42Saul said, “Throw the lot. It will show if it is I or Jonathan my son who is guilty.” And Jonathan was chosen.
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 became strong. He fought bravely and defeated the Amalekites. He saved Israel from the enemies who had taken what the Israelites owned.
49Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. His older daughter was named Merab. His younger daughter was named Michal. 50Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner. Ner was 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: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
1 Samuel 14
14
1One day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to the young armor-bearer, “Come on, let's cross over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he didn't let his father know his plans. 2Saul was staying near Gibeah under a pomegranate tree#14:2. “A pomegranate tree”: or “the Rock of Rimmon.” in Migron. He had about six hundred men with him, 3including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod.#14:3. “Ephod”: a priestly garment. He was a son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, priest of the Lord in Shiloh. No one realized Jonathan had left. 4Cliffs stood on both sides of the pass that Jonathan planned to cross to reach the Philistine garrison, one called Bozez and the other Seneh. 5The cliff to the north was on the Michmash side, the one to the south on the Geba side.
6Jonathan said to the young armor-bearer, “Come on, let's cross over to the garrison of these heathen#14:6. “Heathen”: literally, “uncircumcised.” men. Maybe the Lord will help us out. It's not a problem for the Lord to win, whether by many or by few.”
7“You choose what you want to do,” the armor-bearer replied. “I'm with you whatever you decide!”
8“Let's go then!” Jonathan said. “We'll cross over in their direction so they can see us. 9If they tell us, ‘Wait there until we come down to you,’ we will wait where we are and we won't go up to them. 10But if they say, ‘Come on up to us,’ we'll climb up, for that will be the sign that the Lord has handed them over to us.”
11So both of them let themselves be seen by the Philistine garrison. “Hey, look!” shouted the Philistines. “The Hebrews are coming out of the holes#14:11. “Holes”: the word is often used to describe burrows where animals live. they were hiding in.”
12The men from the garrison called down to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up here, and we'll teach you a thing or two!”
“Follow me up,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the Lord has handed them over to Israel.”
13So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. Jonathan attacked and killed them,#14:13. “Jonathan attacked and killed them”: literally, “they fell before Jonathan.” and his armor-bearer followed doing the same. 14In this first attack, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men over an area of half an acre. 15Then the Philistines went into a panic, in the camp, in the field, and throughout their army. Even those in the outposts and the groups of raiders became terrified. The earth shook—this was a panic sent from God.
16Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the Philistine army melting away, scattering in all directions. 17Saul told the soldiers with him, “Do a roll-call and find out who isn't here with us.” When they did the roll-call, they discovered that Jonathan and his armor-bearer weren't there.
18Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the Ark of God here.” (At the time the Ark of God traveled with the Israelites.)
19But as Saul was speaking to the priest, the commotion coming from the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul told the priest, “Forget it!”#14:19. “Forget it!”: literally, “Take away your hand.” The priest was about to try and determine the Lord's will regarding an attack on the Philistines, perhaps by consulting the Urim and the Thummin on the ephod or through the use of the Ark of God in some way. Whatever the case, Saul countermanded his previous order for divine guidance by telling the priest to stop whatever he was about to do.
20Then Saul and all his army assembled and went into battle. They discovered the Philistines were in total disarray, attacking each other with swords. 21The Hebrews who had previously sided with the Philistines, and who were with them in their camp, switched sides and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running away, they also joined in chasing after the Philistines to attack them. 23On that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle extended past Beth-aven.#14:23. The Septuagint adds the following at this point: “and the army with Saul numbered around ten thousand men. The battle extended across the hill country of Ephraim.”
24It was difficult for the men of Israel that day because Saul had ordered the army to take an oath, saying, “Cursed is anyone who eats anything before evening, before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So no one in the army had eaten anything. 25When they all entered the forest they found honeycomb on the ground. 26While they were in the forest they saw the honey running out, but no one picked it up to eat it because they were all afraid of the oath they had taken. 27But Jonathan hadn't heard that his father had ordered the army to take this oath. So he stuck the end of his stick into the honeycomb, picked up a piece to eat, and he felt much better.#14:27. “He felt much better”: literally, “his eyes brightened.” Also in verse 29. 28But one of the soldiers told him, “Your father made the army take a solemn oath, saying, ‘Cursed is anyone who eats anything today!’ That is why the men are exhausted.”
29“My father has caused a whole lot of trouble for everyone,”#14:29. “Everyone”: literally, “the land.” Jonathan replied. “See how well I am because I've eaten a little of this honey. 30It would have been so much better if only the army had eaten plenty today from the plunder taken from their enemies! How many more Philistines would have been killed?”
31After defeating the Philistines that day, killing them from Michmash to Aijalon, the Israelites were totally exhausted. 32They grabbed the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves, and slaughtered them right there on the ground. But they ate them with the blood.
33Saul was told, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.”
“Law-breakers!” said Saul. “Roll a large stone over here right now!” 34Then he said, “Go around the soldiers and tell them, ‘Every man must bring me his cattle or his sheep and slaughter them here, and then eat. Don't sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.’” Everyone in the army brought what he had#14:34. “What he had”: Septuagint reading. and slaughtered it there that night. 35So Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar he had built to the Lord.
36Saul said, “Let's go and chase down the Philistines during night and plunder them till dawn, leaving no survivors.”
“Do what you think best,” they replied. But the priest said, “Let's ask God first.”
37Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and chase down the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?” But that day God didn't answer him.
38So Saul gave the order, “All you army commanders, come here so we can investigate what sin has happened today. 39I swear on the life of the Lord who saves Israel, that even if it's my son Jonathan, he will have to die!” But no one of the whole army said anything.
40Saul told them all, “You stand over to one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the opposite side.”
“Do what you think best,” the army replied.
41Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let the Thummin show.”#14:41. In other words, let the Thummin show who is the guilty party. Jonathan and Saul were identified, while everyone else was cleared.
42Then Saul said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan.” Jonathan was selected.
43“Tell me what you have done,” Saul asked Jonathan.
“I just tasted a little honey with the end of my stick,” Jonathan told him. “Here I am, and I have to die.”
44Saul said, “May God punish me very severely if you do not die, Jonathan!”
45But the people told Saul, “Does Jonathan have to die, the one who achieved this great victory in Israel? Absolutely not! We swear on the life of the Lord, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground, for it was with God's help that he achieved this today.” The people saved Jonathan, and he didn't die.
46Saul stopped chasing down the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own country.
47After Saul had made his hold over Israel secure, he fought against all his enemies all around: Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Whatever direction he went he defeated them all. 48He fought bravely, conquering the Amalekites, saving Israel from those who plundered them.
49Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi,#14:49. Also called Ishbosheth. and Malchishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab (the firstborn), and Michal (the younger one). 50The name of his wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of Saul's army commander was Abner, son of Ner, and Ner was Saul's uncle. 51Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52Throughout Saul's lifetime there was constant war with the Philistines. Saul recruited into his army every strong warrior and every brave fighter that he met.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com