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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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Samuel 14
14
1One day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to his armor-bearer, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not inform his father—#1 Sm 13:3. 2Saul was sitting under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah; with him were about six hundred men. 3Ahijah, son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh, was wearing the ephod—nor did the soldiers know that Jonathan had gone.#1 Sm 2:28; 4:21; 14:18; 23:9; 30:7. 4Flanking the ravine through which Jonathan intended to cross to the Philistine outpost were rocky crags on each side, one named Bozez and the other Seneh. 5One crag was to the north, toward Michmash; the other to the south, toward Geba. 6Jonathan said to his armor-bearer: “Come, let us go over to that outpost of the uncircumcised. Perhaps the Lord will help us, because it is no more difficult for the Lord to grant victory by means of a few than it is by means of many.”#1 Sm 17:26, 36, 47; Jgs 14:3; Sir 39:18; 1 Mc 3:19. 7His armor-bearer replied, “Do whatever you think best; I am with you in whatever you decide.” 8Jonathan continued: “When we cross over to those men, we will be visible to them. 9If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we can come to you,’ we will stop where we are; we will not go up to them. 10But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will go up, because the Lord has delivered them into our hand. That will be our sign.”#That will be our sign: Jonathan acknowledges that the battle is in God’s hands. #Jos 8:1; 10:8; Jgs 12:3. 11When the two of them came into the view of the Philistine outpost, the Philistines remarked, “Look, some Hebrews#Hebrews: while this term is often used by foreigners of Israelites, in this verse it seems to be a derogatory epithet for soldiers who deserted Saul’s army while he was waiting for Samuel to arrive in Gilgal. are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding.” 12The men of the outpost called to Jonathan and his armor-bearer. “Come up here,” they said, “and we will teach you a lesson.” So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13Jonathan clambered up with his armor-bearer behind him. As the Philistines fell before Jonathan, his armor-bearer, who followed him, would finish them off. 14In this first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men within half a furlong. 15Then terror spread through the camp and the countryside; all the soldiers in the outpost and in the raiding parties shuddered in terror. The earth shook with an awesome shuddering.#Awesome shuddering: lit., “shuddering caused by God”; the panic in the Philistine camp is the work of Israel’s warrior God. #2 Sm 22:8; Jl 2:10–11.
Rout of the Philistines. 16Saul’s sentinels in Gibeah of Benjamin saw that the enemy camp had scattered and were running in all directions. 17Saul said to those around him, “Count the troops and find out if any of us are missing.” When they had taken the count, they found Jonathan and his armor-bearer missing. 18Saul then said to Ahijah, “Bring the ephod here.” (Ahijah was wearing the ephod before the Israelites at that time.) 19While Saul was speaking to the priest, the uproar in the Philistine camp kept increasing. So he said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20And Saul and all his men rallied and rushed into the fight, where the Philistines, wholly confused, were thrusting swords at one another.#Jgs 7:22. 21The Hebrews who had previously sided with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp turned to join the Israelites under Saul and Jonathan.#1 Sm 29:4. 22Likewise, all the Israelites who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim, hearing that the Philistines were fleeing, kept after them in the battle.#1 Sm 13:6. 23#The victory apparently cleared the Philistines off the main ridge of mountains in the territories of Benjamin and Ephraim. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day.
Saul’s Oath. The battle continued past Beth-aven. 24Even though the Israelites were exhausted that day, Saul laid an oath on them, saying, “Cursed be the one who takes food before evening, before I am able to avenge myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. 25Now there was a honeycomb lying on the ground, 26and when the soldiers came to the comb the honey was flowing; yet no one raised a hand from it to his mouth, because the people feared the oath.
Violation of the Oath. 27Jonathan, who had not heard that his father had put the people under oath, thrust out the end of the staff he was holding and dipped it into the honeycomb. Then he raised it to his mouth and his eyes brightened. 28At this, one of the soldiers spoke up: “Your father put the people under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the one who takes food today!’ As a result the people are weakened.” 29#Jos 7:25; 1 Kgs 18:17–18. Jonathan replied: “My father brings trouble to the land. Look how bright my eyes are because I had this little taste of honey. 30What is more, if the army had eaten freely of the enemy’s plunder when they came across it today, surely the slaughter of the Philistines would have been the greater by now!”
Consuming the Blood. 31After the Philistines were routed that day from Michmash to Aijalon, the people were completely exhausted. 32So the army pounced upon the plunder and took sheep, oxen, and calves, slaughtering them on the ground and eating the meat with the blood in it.#1 Sm 15:19, 21; Gn 4:9; Lv 3:17; 7:26–27; 17:10–14; Acts 15:20, 29. 33Informed that the army was sinning against the Lord by eating the meat with blood in it, Saul said: “You have broken faith. Roll a large stone here for me.” 34He continued: “Mingle with the people and tell each of them, ‘Bring an ox or sheep to me. Slaughter them here and then eat. But you must not sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood in it.’” So that night they all brought whatever oxen they had seized, and they slaughtered them there; 35and Saul built an altar to the Lord—this was the first time he built an altar to the Lord.#1 Sm 7:17; Jgs 6:24.
Jonathan in Danger of Death. 36Then Saul said, “Let us go down in pursuit of the Philistines by night, to plunder them until daybreak and leave no one alive.” They replied, “Do what you think best.” But the priest said, “Let us consult God.” 37So Saul inquired of God: “Shall I go down in pursuit of the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he received no answer on this occasion.#1 Sm 28:6, 15. 38“All officers of the army,” Saul announced, “come forward. Find out how this sin was committed today. 39As the Lord lives who has given victory to Israel, even if my son Jonathan has committed it, he shall surely die!” But none of the people answered him. 40So he said to all Israel, “Stand on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will stand on the other.” The people responded, “Do what you think best.”#Jos 7:13–15. 41And Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel: “Why did you not answer your servant this time? If the blame for this resides in me or my son Jonathan, Lord, God of Israel, respond with Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, respond with Thummim.”#Urim…Thummim: objects, one representing a positive response and the other a negative response, kept in the front pocket of the priest’s ephod, a garment worn as a breastplate, and used to ascertain God’s will in certain instances, e.g., whether Saul should help rout the Philistines. Saul consults the priest but is too impatient to finish the consultation and hurries impulsively into battle. Jonathan and Saul were designated, and the people went free.#1 Sm 10:20; 28:6; Ex 28:30; Dt 33:8. 42Saul then said, “Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was designated. 43Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” Jonathan replied, “I only tasted a little honey from the end of the staff I was holding. Am I to die for this?” 44Saul declared, “May God do thus to me, and more, if you do not indeed die, Jonathan!”#1 Sm 3:17; Ru 1:17.
Rescue of Jonathan. 45But the soldiers protested to Saul: “Is Jonathan to die, the man who won this great victory for Israel? This must not be! As the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for God was with him in what he did today!” Thus the soldiers rescued#Rescued: the Hebrew word used is that for the “redemption” of the firstborn (Ex 13:13–15). Jonathan and he did not die.#2 Sm 14:11; 1 Kgs 1:52. 46After that Saul gave up the pursuit of the Philistines, who returned to their own territory.
Saul’s Victories. 47After taking possession of the kingship over Israel, Saul waged war on its enemies all around—Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he was successful#2 Sm 1:22; 8:2–5. 48and fought bravely. He defeated Amalek and delivered Israel from the hand of those who were plundering them.#1 Sm 15:7.
Saul’s Family. 49The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; the name of his firstborn daughter was Merob; the name of the younger was Michal.#1 Sm 18:20, 25; 31:2; 1 Chr 8:33; 9:39; 10:2. 50The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of his general was Abner, son of Ner, Saul’s uncle; 51Kish, Saul’s father, and Ner, Abner’s father, were sons of Abiel.#1 Sm 9:1.
52There was heavy fighting with the Philistines during Saul’s lifetime. Whenever Saul saw any strong or brave man, he took him into his service.
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