1 Samuel 14
14
1And the day cometh that Jonathan son of Saul saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, ‘Come, and we pass over unto the station of the Philistines, which [is] on the other side of this;’ and to his father he hath not declared [it].
2And Saul is abiding at the extremity of Gibeah, under the pomegranate which [is] in Migron, and the people who [are] with him, about six hundred men,
3and Ahiah, son of Ahitub, brother of I-Chabod, son of Phinehas son of Eli priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, bearing an ephod; and the people knew not that Jonathan hath gone.
4And between the passages where Jonathan sought to pass over unto the station of the Philistines [is] the edge of a rock on the one side, and the edge of a rock on the other side, and the name of the one is Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
5The one edge [is] fixed on the north over-against Michmash, and the one on the south over-against Gibeah.
6And Jonathan saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, ‘Come, and we pass over unto the station of these uncircumcised; it may be Jehovah doth work for us, for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.’
7And the bearer of his weapons saith to him, ‘Do all that [is] in thy heart; turn for thee; lo, I [am] with thee, as thine own heart.’
8And Jonathan saith, ‘Lo, we are passing over unto the men, and are revealed unto them;
9if thus they say unto us, ‘Stand still till we have come unto you,’ then we have stood in our place, and do not go up unto them;
10and if thus they say, ‘Come up against us,’ then we have gone up, for Jehovah hath given them into our hand, and this to us [is] the sign.
11And revealed are both of them unto the station of the Philistines, and the Philistines say, ‘Lo, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves.’
12And the men of the station answer Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons, and say, ‘Come up unto us, and we cause you to know something.’ And Jonathan saith unto the bearer of his weapons, ‘Come up after me, for Jehovah hath given them into the hand of Israel.’
13And Jonathan goeth up on his hands, and on his feet, and the bearer of his weapons after him; and they fall before Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons is putting to death after him.
14And the first smiting which Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons have smitten is of about twenty men, in about half a furrow of a yoke of a field,
15and there is a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people, the station and the destroyers have trembled — even they, and the earth shaketh, and it becometh a trembling of God.
16And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin see, and lo, the multitude hath melted away, and it goeth on, and is beaten down.
17And Saul saith to the people who [are] with him, ‘Inspect, I pray you, and see; who hath gone from us?’ and they inspect, and lo, Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons are not.
18And Saul saith to Ahiah, ‘Bring nigh the ark of God;’ for the ark of God hath been on that day with the sons of Israel.
19And it cometh to pass, while Saul spake unto the priest, that the noise which [is] in the camp of the Philistines goeth on, going on and becoming great, and Saul saith unto the priest, ‘Remove thy hand.’
20And Saul is called, and all the people who [are] with him, and they come in unto the battle, and, lo, the sword of each hath been against his neighbour — a very great destruction.
21And the Hebrews [who] have been for the Philistines as heretofore, who had gone up with them into the camp, have turned round, even they, to be with Israel who [are] with Saul and Jonathan,
22and all the men of Israel, who are hiding themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, have heard that the Philistines have fled, and they pursue — even they — after them in battle.
23And Jehovah saveth Israel on that day, and the battle hath passed over to Beth-Aven.
24And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjureth the people, saying, ‘Cursed [is] the man who eateth food till the evening, and I have been avenged of mine enemies;’ and none of the people hath tasted food.
25And all [they of] the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field;
26and the people come in unto the forest, and lo, the honey dropped, and none is moving his hand unto his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
27And Jonathan hath not heard of his father's adjuring the people, and putteth forth the end of the rod, which [is] in his hand, and dippeth it in the honeycomb, and bringeth back his hand unto his mouth — and his eyes see!
28And a man of the people answereth and saith, ‘Thy father certainly adjured the people, saying, Cursed [is] the man who eateth food to-day; and the people are weary.’
29And Jonathan saith, ‘My father hath troubled the land; see, I pray you, that mine eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much more if the people had well eaten to-day of the spoil of its enemies which it hath found, for now, the smiting hath not been great among the Philistines.’
31And they smite on that day among the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people are very weary,
32and the people make unto the spoil, and take sheep, and oxen, and sons of the herd, and slaughter on the earth, and the people eat with the blood.
33And they declare to Saul, saying, ‘Lo, the people are sinning against Jehovah, to eat with the blood.’ And he saith, ‘Ye have dealt treacherously, roll unto me to-day a great stone.’
34And Saul saith, ‘Be ye scattered among the people, and ye have said to them, Bring ye nigh unto me each his ox, and each his sheep; and ye have slain [them] in this place, and eaten, and ye do not sin against Jehovah to eat with the blood.’ And all the people bring nigh each his ox, in his hand, that night, and slaughter [them] there.
35And Saul buildeth an alter to Jehovah; with it he hath begun to build altars to Jehovah.
36And Saul saith, ‘Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and we prey upon them till the light of the morning, and leave not a man of them.’ And they say, ‘All that is good in thine eyes do.’ And the priest saith, ‘Let us draw near hither unto God.’
37And Saul asketh of God, ‘Do I go down after the Philistines? dost Thou give them into the hand of Israel?’ and He hath not answered him on that day.
38And Saul saith, ‘Draw ye nigh hither all, the chiefs of the people, and know and see in what this sin hath been to-day;
39for, Jehovah liveth, who is saving Israel: surely if it be in Jonathan my son, surely he doth certainly die;’ and none is answering him out of all the people.
40And he saith unto all Israel, ‘Ye — ye are on one side, and I and Jonathan my son are on another side;’ and the people say unto Saul, ‘That which is good in thine eyes do.’
41And Saul saith unto Jehovah, God of Israel, ‘Give perfection;’ and Jonathan and Saul are captured, and the people went out.
42And Saul saith, ‘Cast between me and Jonathan my son;’ and Jonathan is captured.
43And Saul saith unto Jonathan, ‘Declare to me, what hast thou done?’ and Jonathan declareth to him, and saith, ‘I certainly tasted with the end of the rod that [is] in my hand a little honey; lo, I die!’
44And Saul saith, ‘Thus doth God do, and thus doth He add, for thou dost certainly die, Jonathan.’
45And the people say unto Saul, ‘Doth Jonathan die who wrought this great salvation in Israel? — a profanation! Jehovah liveth, if there falleth from the hair of his head to the earth, for with God he hath wrought this day;’ and the people rescue Jonathan, and he hath not died.
46And Saul goeth up from after the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone to their place;
47and Saul captured the kingdom over Israel, and he fighteth round about against all his enemies, against Moab, and against the Bene-Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and whithersoever he turneth he doth vex [them].
48And he maketh a force, and smiteth Amalek, and delivereth Israel out of the hand of its spoiler.
49And the sons of Saul are Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-Shua; as to the name of his two daughters, the name of the first-born [is] Merab, and the name of the younger Michal;
50and the name of the wife of Saul [is] Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the head of his host [is] Abner son of Ner, uncle of Saul;
51and Kish [is] father of Saul, and Ner father of Abner [is] son of Ahiel.
52And the war is severe against the Philistines all the days of Saul; when Saul hath seen any mighty man, and any son of valour, then he doth gather him unto himself.
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1 Samuel 14: YLT98
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1 Samuel 14
14
Jonathan Defeats the Philistines
1A day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man that bore his armor, “Come, and let us cross over to the Philistine garrison which is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
2#1Sa 13:15–16Now Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people that were with him were about six hundred men. 3#1Sa 2:28; 4:21And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, was wearing the ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.
4#1Sa 13:23Between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5The crag of the one rose north opposite Mikmash, and the other faced southward opposite Geba.
6#1Sa 17:26; 17:36Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. Perhaps the Lord will work for us. For the Lord is not limited to save by many or by few.”
7His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Turn yourself, and I will be with you according to your heart.”
8#Jdg 7:9–14Then Jonathan said, “Now we will cross over to these men, and we will reveal ourselves to them. 9If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10#Ge 24:14But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”
11#1Sa 13:6; 14:22So the two of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the caves where they have hidden themselves.” 12#1Sa 17:43–44; 2Sa 5:24The men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will teach you something.”
So Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me. For the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”
13Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet with his armor bearer behind him. And they fell before Jonathan. And his armor bearer was dealing death blows after him. 14That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men within about a half-acre field.
15#1Sa 13:17; Ge 35:5There was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled, and the ground quaked. It was the fear of God.
16The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away, and they went even here and there. 17Then Saul said to the people that were with him, “Number now, and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, Jonathan nor his armor bearer were there.
18Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring here the ark of God.” For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. 19#Nu 27:21It came to pass, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
20#Jdg 7:22; 2Ch 20:23Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle. And every man’s sword was against his fellow, so that there was very great confusion. 21#1Sa 29:4Even the Hebrews who were with the Philistines the days before, who went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the children of Israel that were with Saul and Jonathan. 22#1Sa 13:6Also all of Israel’s fighting men, who had hidden themselves in mountains of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines fled, and even they followed hard after them in the battle. 23#Ex 14:30; 1Sa 13:5So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed beyond Beth Aven.
Saul’s Rash Oath
24#Jos 6:26Now Israel’s fighting men were distressed that day. For Saul had placed the people under a curse, saying, “Cursed is the man that eats any food before it is evening, and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted any food.
25All the people of the land came to the forest, and there was honey on the ground. 26When the people came into the forest there was flowing honey. But no man put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath. 27#1Sa 30:12; 14:43But Jonathan had not heard when his father made the people swear. Therefore he put forward the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were brightened. 28Then one of the people answered, and said, “Your father surely made the people swear, saying, ‘Cursed is the man that eats any food this day.’ ” And the people were weary.
29#1Ki 18:18Then said Jonathan, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30How much more, if the people had surely eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found? But now the defeat of the Philistines has not been great.”
31#Jos 10:12And they struck the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Aijalon, and the people were very weary. 32#Lev 3:17; 1Sa 15:19The people rushed upon the spoil; they took sheep, oxen, and calves and slew them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. 33Then they reported to Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating the blood.”
And he said, “You have dealt faithlessly. Roll a great stone to me this day.” 34Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring to me here every man his ox or sheep. And slaughter them here, and eat. But you shall not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ ”
And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. 35#1Sa 7:17And Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar that he built to the Lord.
36Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light. And let us not leave a man of them.”
And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.”
Then the priest said, “Let us draw near here to God.”
37#1Sa 28:6Saul asked of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day.
38#1Sa 10:19–20Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and observe and see how this sin has come about this day. 39#1Sa 14:44; 2Sa 12:5For, as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in Jonathan my son, he will surely die.” But there was not one who answered him from among all the people.
40Then he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.”
And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
41#Ac 1:24; Jos 7:16–18Therefore Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped. 42Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.
43#Jos 7:19; 1Sa 14:27Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
And Jonathan told him, and said, “I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am. I must die.”
44#Ru 1:17; 1Sa 14:39Saul said, “May God do so to me and more also, for you will surely die, Jonathan.”
45#2Sa 14:11; 1Ki 1:52The people said to Saul, “Will Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? God forbid. As the Lord lives, there will not one hair of his head fall to the ground. For he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
46Then Saul went up from following the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
47#2Sa 10:6So Saul took the kingdom over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the Ammonites, against Edom and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Whatever place he turned himself, he defeated them. 48He gathered an army, and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hand of its plunderers.
Saul’s Family
49#1Sa 31:2; 1Ch 8:33Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. And the names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the youngest. 50#2Sa 2:8And the name of the wife of Saul was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his army was Abner, the son of Ner, the uncle of Saul. 51#1Sa 9:1; 9:21Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52#1Sa 8:11There was strong war against the Philistines all the days of Saul, and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him into his service.
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