The First Book of Samuel

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 14 -

And the day comes that Jonathan son of Saul says to the young man carrying his weapons, “Come, and we pass over to the station of the Philistines, which [is] on the other side of this”; and he has not declared [it] to his father.

And Saul is abiding at the extremity of Gibeah, under the pomegranate which [is] in Migron, and the people who [are] with him [are] about six hundred men,

and Ahiah, son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod, son of Phinehas son of Eli priest of YHWH in Shiloh, [was] bearing an ephod; and the people did not know that Jonathan has gone.

And between the passages where Jonathan sought to pass over to the station of the Philistines [is] the edge of a rock on one side, and the edge of a rock on the other side, and the name of one is Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

One edge [is] fixed on the north in front of Michmash, and the one on the south in front of Gibeah.

And Jonathan says to the young man carrying his weapons, “Come, and we pass over to the station of these uncircumcised; it may be YHWH works for us, for there is no restraint to YHWH to save by many or by few.”

And the bearer of his weapons says to him, “Do all that [is] in your heart; turn for yourself; behold, I [am] with you, as your own heart.”

And Jonathan says, “Behold, we are passing over to the men, and are revealed to them;

if they thus say to us, Stand still until we have come to you, then we have stood in our place, and do not go up to them;

and if they thus say, Come up against us, then we have gone up, for YHWH has given them into our hand, and this [is] the sign to us.”

And both of them are revealed to the station of the Philistines, and the Philistines say, “Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves.”

And the men of the station answer Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons, and say, “Come up to us, and we cause you to know something.” And Jonathan says to the bearer of his weapons, “Come up after me, for YHWH has given them into the hand of Israel.”

And Jonathan goes 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 [them] to death after him.

And the first striking which Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons have struck is of about twenty men, in about half a furrow of a yoke of a field,

and 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 shakes, and it becomes a trembling of God.

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin see, and behold, the multitude has melted away, and it goes on, and is beaten down.

And Saul says to the people who [are] with him, “Now inspect and see; who has gone from us?” And they inspect, and behold, Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons are not.

And Saul says to Ahiah, “Bring the Ark of God near”; for the Ark of God has been with the sons of Israel on that day.

And it comes to pass, while Saul spoke to the priest, that the noise which [is] in the camp of the Philistines goes on, going on and becoming great, and Saul says to the priest, “Remove your hand.”

And Saul is called, and all the people who [are] with him, and they come to the battle, and behold, the sword of each has been against his neighbor—a very great destruction.

And the Hebrews [who] have been with the Philistines before the day prior, who had gone up with them into the camp, have turned around, even they, to be with Israel who [are] with Saul and Jonathan,

and 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.

And YHWH saves Israel on that day, and the battle has passed over to Beth-Aven.

Jonathan Eats the Honey

And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjures the people, saying, “Cursed [is] the man who eats food until the evening, and I have been avenged of my enemies”; and none of the people have tasted food.

And all [those of] the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field;

and the people come into the forest, and behold, the honey dropped, and none is moving his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.

And Jonathan has not heard of his father’s adjuring the people, and puts forth the end of the rod, which [is] in his hand, and dips it in the honeycomb, and brings back his hand to his mouth—and his eyes see!

And a man of the people answers and says, “Your father certainly adjured the people, saying, Cursed [is] the man who eats food today; and the people are weary.”

And Jonathan says, “My father has troubled the land; now see that my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey.

How much more if the people had well eaten today of the spoil of its enemies which it has found, for now the striking has not been great among the Philistines.”

And they strike on that day among the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people are very weary,

and the people make toward the spoil, and take sheep, and oxen, and sons of the herd, and slaughter on the earth, and the people eat with the blood.

And they declare to Saul, saying, “Behold, the people are sinning against YHWH, to eat with the blood.” And he says, “You have dealt treacherously, roll a great stone to me today.”

And Saul says, “Be scattered among the people, and you have said to them: Each bring his ox to me, and each his sheep; and you have slain [them] in this place, and eaten, and you do not sin against YHWH to eat with the blood.” And all the people bring [them]—each one [with] his ox in his hand, that night—and slaughter [them] there.

And Saul builds an altar to YHWH; with it he has begun to build altars to YHWH.

And Saul says, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and we prey on them until the morning light, and do not leave a man of them.” And they say, “Do all that is good in your eyes.” And the priest says, “Let us draw near to God here.”

The People Save Jonathan

And Saul asks of God, “Do I go down after the Philistines? Do You give them into the hand of Israel?” And He has not answered him on that day.

And Saul says, “Everyone draw near here, the chiefs of the people, and know and see in what this sin has been today;

for YHWH lives, who is saving Israel: surely if it is in my son Jonathan, surely he certainly dies”; and none is answering him out of all the people.

And he says to all Israel, “You are on one side, and I and my son Jonathan are on another side”; and the people say to Saul, “Do that which is good in your eyes.”

And Saul says to YHWH, God of Israel, “Give perfection”; and Jonathan and Saul are captured, and the people went out.

And Saul says, “Cast between me and my son Jonathan”; and Jonathan is captured.

And Saul says to Jonathan, “Declare to me, what have you done?” And Jonathan declares to him and says, “I certainly tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that [is] in my hand; behold, I die!”

And Saul says, “Thus God does, and thus does He add, for you certainly die, Jonathan.”

And the people say to Saul, “Does Jonathan die who worked this great salvation in Israel? Certainly not! YHWH lives, if there falls to the earth [even one] hair from his head, for with God he has worked this day”; and the people rescue Jonathan, and he has not died.

And Saul goes up from after the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone to their place;

Saul’s Victories

and Saul captured the kingdom over Israel, and he fights all around against all his enemies, against Moab, and against the sons of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and wherever he turns he distresses [them].

And he makes a force, and strikes Amalek, and delivers Israel out of the hand of its spoiler.

And the sons of Saul are Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-Shua; as for the name of his two daughters, the name of the firstborn [is] Merab, and the name of the younger Michal;

and 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;

and Kish [is] the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, [is] the son of Ahiel.

And the war is severe against the Philistines all the days of Saul; when Saul has seen any mighty man, and any son of valor, then he gathers him to himself.

Now it happened on a day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come! Let’s go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he didn’t tell his father.

Saul stayed in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron; and the people who were with him were about six hundred men,

including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. The people didn’t know that Jonathan was gone.

Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side; and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.

The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come! Let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for there is no restraint on the LORD to save by many or by few.”

His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go, and behold, I am with you according to your heart.”

Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will pass over to the men, and we will reveal ourselves to them.

If they say this to us, ‘Wait until we come to you!’ then we will stand still in our place and will not go up to them.

But if they say this, ‘Come up to us!’ then we will go up, for the LORD has delivered them into our hand. This shall be the sign to us.”

Both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, “Behold, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they had hidden themselves!”

The men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something!” Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”

Jonathan climbed up on his hands and on his feet, and his armor bearer after him, and they fell before Jonathan; and his armor bearer killed them after him.

That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land.

There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so there was an exceedingly great trembling.

The watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and behold, the multitude melted away and scattered.

Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count now, and see who is missing from us.” When they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring God’s ark here.” For God’s ark was with the children of Israel at that time.

While Saul talked to the priest, the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased; and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand!”

Saul and all the people who were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle; and behold, they were all striking each other with their swords in very great confusion.

Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before and who went up with them into the camp from all around, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.

So the LORD saved Israel that day; and the battle passed over by Beth Aven.

Jonathan Eats the Honey

The men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening, and I am avenged of my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.

All the people came into the forest; and there was honey on the ground.

When the people had come to the forest, behold, honey was dripping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.

But Jonathan didn’t hear when his father commanded the people with the oath. Therefore he put out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened.

Then one of the people answered, and said, “Your father directly commanded the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’” So the people were faint.

Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Please look how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

How much more, if perhaps the people had eaten freely today of the plunder of their enemies which they found? For now there has been no great slaughter among the Philistines.”

They struck the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. The people were very faint;

and the people pounced on the plunder, and took sheep, cattle, and calves, and killed them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.

Then they told Saul, saying, “Behold, the people are sinning against the LORD, in that they eat meat with the blood.” He said, “You have dealt treacherously. Roll a large stone to me today!”

Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them, ‘Every man bring me here his ox, and every man his sheep, and kill them here, and eat; and don’t sin against the LORD in eating meat with the blood.’” All the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and killed them there.

Saul built an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD.

Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines by night, and take plunder among them until the morning light. Let’s not leave a man of them.” They said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let’s draw near here to God.”

The People Save Jonathan

Saul asked counsel of God: “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he didn’t answer him that day.

Saul said, “Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see in whom this sin has been today.

For as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him.

Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” The people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”

Therefore Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Show the right.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen, but the people escaped.

Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.” Jonathan was selected.

Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done!” Jonathan told him, and said, “I certainly did taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand; and behold, I must die.”

Saul said, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”

The people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the LORD lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God today!” So the people rescued Jonathan, so he didn’t die.

Then Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.

Saul’s Victories

Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side: against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned himself, he defeated them.

He did valiantly and struck the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.

Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal.

The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the captain of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.

Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man or any valiant man, he took him into his service.