Kings I 14
1 And when a certain day arrived, Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to Messab of the Philistines that is on the other side yonder; but he told not his father.
One day, Jonathan said to the young man who carried his weapons, “Come with me; we will go over to where the Philistia soldiers have put up their tents.” [So they went], but Jonathan did not tell his father [what they were going to do].
2 And Saul sat on the top of the hill under the pomegranate tree that is in Magdon, and there were with him about six hundred men.
On that day, Saul and the 600 soldiers who were with him were sitting around a pomegranate tree at a place where the people threshed grain, near Gibeah.
3 And Achia son of Achitob, the brother of Jochabed the son of Phinees, the son of Heli, [was] the priest of God in Selom wearing an ephod: and the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
Ahijah the priest was also there. He was wearing the sacred vest. Ahijah was the son of Ahitub, who was a brother of Ichabod. Ichabod and Ahitub were the sons of Phinehas, who was the son of Eli, who had been Yahweh’s priest at Shiloh. No one knew that Jonathan had left [the Israeli camp].
4 And in the midst of the passage whereby Jonathan sought to pass over to the encampment of the Philistines, there was both a sharp rock on this side, and a sharp rock on the other side: the name of the one [was] Bases, and the name of the other Senna.
Jonathan planned that he and the young man would go through a narrow (pass/place between two cliffs) to get to where the Philistia army was. The cliff on one side of the pass was named Bozez, and the other cliff was named Seneh.
5 The one way [was] northward to one coming to Machmas, and the other way [was] southward to one coming to Gabae.
One cliff faced north toward Micmash, and the cliff on the other side faced south toward Geba [town].
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armor, Come, let us go over to Messab of these uncircumcised, if [perhaps] the Lord may do something for us; for the Lord is not straitened to save by many or by few.
Jonathan said to the young man who carried his weapons, “Come with me. We will go to where those (pagans/people who do not believe in Yahweh) [MTY] have set up their tents. Perhaps Yahweh will help us. It does not matter whether we are only two men or many people; nothing can hinder Yahweh from enabling us to defeat them.”
7 And his armor-bearer said to him, Do all that your heart inclines toward: behold, I [am] with you, my heart [is] as your heart.
The young man who was carrying Jonathan’s weapons said, “Do what you think is the best thing for us to do. I will help you.”
8 And Jonathan said, Behold, we will go over to the men, and will come down suddenly upon them.
Then Jonathan said, “Okay, come with me. We will cross the valley to where the Philistia army is, and allow them to see us.
9 If they should say thus to us, Stand aloof there until we shall send you word; then we will stand still by ourselves, and will not go up against them.
If they then say to us, ‘You two stay there until we come down to you,’ we will stay there and not go up to them.
10 [But] if they should say thus to us, Come up to us; then will we go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hands; this [shall be] a sign to us.
But if they say to us, ‘Come up here [and fight against] us,’ that will show us that Yahweh will enable us to defeat them. Then we will go up and fight them.”
11 And they both went in to Messab of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of their Caves, where they had hidden themselves.
When the two of them crossed the valley, the Philistia soldiers saw them coming. They said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes in which they have been hiding!”
12 And the men of Messab answered Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing: and Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hands of Israel.
Then the Philistia soldiers who were closest to Jonathan and the young man who carried his weapons said, “Come up here, and we will teach you something [about how to fight] [IDM]!” Jonathan said to the young man who was with him, “Come behind me and climb up, because Yahweh is going to help us to defeat them!”
13 And Jonathan went up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer with him; and they looked on the face of Jonathan, and he struck them, and his armor-bearer did strike [them] after him.
So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and his feet [because it was very steep]. The young man climbed up following him. As Jonathan climbed, he struck and killed many Philistia soldiers, and the young man who was with him killed many more as he followed behind Jonathan.
14 And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor-bearer effected was twenty men, with darts and slings, and pebbles of the field.
In that first battle the two of them killed about 20 Philistia soldiers in an area that was about half an acre.
15 And there was dismay in the camp, and in the field; and all the people in Messab, and the spoilers were amazed; and they would not act, and the land was terror-struck, and there was dismay from the lord.
Then all the other Philistia soldiers, the ones in the camp and the ones who had been attacking the Israeli towns, ones who were out in the field much closer, panicked. Then God caused the ground to shake, and they all became terrified/very afraid.
16 And the watchmen of Saul saw in Gabaa of Benjamin, and, behold, the army was thrown into confusion on every side.
Saul’s (lookouts/men who were watching to see if enemies were coming) were in Gibeah [town] in the land of the tribe of Benjamin. They saw that the soldiers of the Philistia army were running away in all directions.
17 And Saul said to the people with him, Number yourselves now, and see who has gone out from you: and they numbered themselves, and behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not found.
Saul [realized that some of his soldiers must have attacked the Philistia army. So he] said to the soldiers who were with him, “Check to see if any of our men are not here.” So they checked, and they found out that Jonathan and the man who carried his weapons were gone.
18 And Saul said to Achia, Bring the ephod; for he wore the ephod in that day before Israel.
So Saul said to Ahijah [the Supreme Priest], “Bring the sacred vest here [and find out what we should do].” On that day Ahijah was wearing the sacred vest, going in front of the Israelis.
19 And it came to pass while Saul was speaking to the priest, that the sound in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase greatly; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw your hands.
But while Saul was talking to the priest, [he saw that] the Philistia soldiers were becoming more panicked/confused. So Saul said to Ahijah, “Take your hand down [from the sacred vest. Do not waste any more time using the marked stones in the vest to find out what Yahweh wants us to do.”]
20 And Saul went up and all the people that were with him, and they come to the battle: and, behold, [every] man's sword was against his neighbor, a very great confusion.
Then Saul gathered his men and they went toward the battle. They found that the Philistia soldiers were so confused that they were striking each other with their swords.
21 And the servants who had been before with the Philistines, who had gone up to the army, turned themselves also to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
Before that, some of the Hebrew men had deserted their army and gone to join with the Philistia army. But now those men [revolted and] joined with Saul and Jonathan and the other Israeli soldiers.
22 And all the Israelites who were hidden in mount Ephraim heard also that the Philistines fled; and they also gather themselves after them to battle: and the Lord saved Israel in that day; and the war passed through Bamoth; and all the people with Saul were about ten thousand men.
Some of the Israeli soldiers had previously run away and hidden in the mountains where the tribe of Ephraim lived. But when they heard that the Philistia soldiers were running away, they [came down and] joined the other Israeli soldiers and pursued the Philistia soldiers.
23 And the battle extended itself to every city in the mount Ephraim.
So Yahweh rescued the Israelis on that day. The Israeli soldiers continued to pursue their enemies beyond Beth-Aven [town].
24 And Saul committed a great trespass of ignorance in that day, and he lays a curse on the people, saying, Cursed [is] the man who shall eat bread before the evening; so I will avenge myself on my enemy: and none of the people tasted bread, though all the land was dining.
Before Saul’s soldiers went to the battle, Saul declared to them solemnly, “I do not want any of you to eat any food before this evening, before we have defeated all our enemies. If anyone eats anything, [Yahweh] will curse/punish him.” So none of the Israeli soldiers ate any food, and they became faint/weak because they were very hungry.
25 And Jaal was a wood abounding in swarms of bees on the face of the ground.
The Israeli army went into the forest, and they found honeycombs on the ground, but they did not eat any honey.
26 And the people went into the place of the bees, and, behold, they continued speaking; and, behold, there was none that put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath of the Lord.
They were afraid to eat any, because they had solemnly promised that they would not eat any food.
27 And Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he reached forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, an dipped it into the honeycomb, and returned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes recovered their sight.
But Jonathan did not hear what his father commanded [because he had left the camp very early in the morning]. So [when he saw] a honeycomb, he dipped the end of his walking stick into it and ate some honey. After he ate the honey, he felt stronger.
28 And one of the people answered and said, Your father solemnly adjured the people, saying, Cursed [is] the man who shall eat bread today. And the people were very faint,
But one of the Israeli soldiers saw him and said to him, “Your father solemnly declared to us that [Yahweh] would curse/punish anyone who ate any food today. So now we are [very tired and] weak from being hungry [because we obeyed him].”
29 and Jonathan knew it, and said, My father has destroyed the land: see how my eyes have received sight [now] that I have tasted a little of this honey.
Jonathan exclaimed, “My father has caused trouble for all of us! See how refreshed/strong I am after eating a little honey!
30 Surely if the people had this day eaten freely of the spoils of their enemies which they found, the slaughter among the Philistines would have been greater.
If he had permitted all of us to eat from the food we took from our enemies while we were pursuing them, we would have been able to kill many more of their soldiers!”
31 And on that day he struck some of the Philistines in Machmas; and the people were very weary.
The Israelis pursued and killed Philistia soldiers all that day, from Micmash [town west] to Aijalon. But they continued to become weaker from being hungry.
32 And the people turned to the spoil; and the people took flocks, and herds, and calves, and killed them on the ground, and the people ate with the blood.
They had taken [many] sheep and cattle that the Philistia soldiers had abandoned. Now, because they were extremely hungry, they butchered some of those animals and ate the meat without draining the blood from the animals.
33 And it was reported to Saul, saying, The people have sinned against the Lord, eating with the blood: and Saul said, Out of Getthaim roll a great stone to me hither.
One of the soldiers told Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against Yahweh by eating meat that still has blood in it!” Saul replied [to the men who were near him], “They have disobeyed Yahweh! Roll a large stone over here!”
34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them to bring hither every one his calf, and every one his sheep: and let them kill it on this [stone] and sin not against the Lord in eating with the blood: and the people brought each one that which was in his hand, and they killed [them] there.
After they did that, he said to those men, “Go and tell all the soldiers that each of them must bring an ox or a sheep to me, and kill it here on this stone, [and drain the blood] before he eats any of the meat. They should not sin against Yahweh by eating meat [from some animal] without draining its blood.” So that night all the soldiers brought animals and slaughtered them there. Then Saul built an altar to [worship] Yahweh.
35 And Saul built an altar there to the Lord: this was the first altar that Saul built to the Lord.
That was the first [time that he built an] altar for Yahweh.
36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines this night, and let us plunder among them till the day break, and let us not leave a man among them. And they said, Do all that is good in your sight: and the priest said, let us draw near hither to God.
Then Saul said [to the Israeli soldiers], “Let’s pursue the Philistia soldiers tonight. We can attack them all night. We will not allow any of them to escape alive.” The Israeli soldiers answered, “We will do whatever you think is the best thing for us to do.” But the priest said, “We should ask Yahweh [what he thinks we should do].”
37 And Saul enquired of God, If I go down after the Philistines, will you deliver them into the hands of Israel? And he answered him not in that day.
So Saul asked God, “Should we pursue the Philistine soldiers? Will you enable us to defeat them?” But God did not answer Saul that day.
38 And Saul said, Bring hither all the chiefs of Israel, and know and see by whom this sin has been committed this day.
Then Saul summoned all the leaders of his army. He said to them, “[I am sure that God has not answered me because] someone has sinned. We must find out what sin someone has committed.
39 For as the Lord lives who has saved Israel, if answer should be against my son Jonathan, he shall surely die. And there was no one that answered out of all the people.
Yahweh has rescued us [from the Philistia army]. Just as certain as Yahweh lives, whoever has sinned must be executed. Even if it is my son Jonathan who has sinned, he must be executed.” [His men knew who was guilty], but none of them said anything [to Saul].
40 And he said to all the men of Israel, You shall be under subjection, and I an Jonathan my son will be under subjection: and the people said to Saul, Do that which is good in your sight.
Then Saul said to all the Israeli soldiers, “You stand on one side. My son Jonathan and I will stand on the other side.” His men replied, “Do whatever you think is best.”
41 And Saul said, O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? [is] the iniquity in me, or in Jonathan my son? Lord God of Israel, give clear [manifestations]; and if [the lot] should declare this, give, I pray you, to your people of Israel, give, I pray, holiness. And Jonathan and Saul are taken, and the people escaped.
Then Saul prayed to Yahweh, the Israelis’ God, “Tell me who is guilty and who is not guilty.” Then the priest (cast lots/threw the stones that were marked), and they indicated that it was [either] Jonathan or Saul who was the guilty one, and that the other men were not guilty.
42 And Saul said, Cast [lots] between me and my son Jonathan: whoever the Lord shall cause to be taken by lot, let him die: and the people said to Saul, This thing is not [to be done]: and Saul prevailed against the people, and they cast [lots] between him and Jonathan his son, and Jonathan is taken by lot.
Then Saul said to the priest, “Throw the stones again to indicate which of us two is guilty.” So he did, and the stones indicated that Jonathan was the guilty one.
43 And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what you have done: and Jonathan told him, and said, I did indeed taste a little honey, with the end of my staff that was in my hand, and, behold! I [am to] die.
Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done [that was wrong].” Jonathan replied, “I ate a little bit of honey. It was only a little bit that was on the end of my stick. Do I [deserve to be] executed [because of doing that]?”
44 And Saul said to him, God do so to me, and more also, you shall surely die today.
Saul replied, “Yes, you must be executed! I hope/wish that God will strike me and kill me if you are not executed for having done that!”
45 And the people said to Saul, Shall he that has wrought this great salvation in Israel be put to death this day? [As] the Lord lives, there shall not fall to the ground one of the hairs of his head; for the people of God have wrought successfully this day. And the people prayed for Jonathan in that day, and he died not.
But the Israeli soldiers said to Saul, “Jonathan has won a great victory for all us Israelis. Should he be executed for eating some honey [RHQ]? Certainly not! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, we will not allow you to injure him in any manner [IDM], [because] today God helped Jonathan [to kill many soldiers of the Philistia army]!” So [by saying that] the Israeli soldiers rescued Jonathan, and he was not executed.
46 And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines departed to their place.
Then Saul ordered his soldiers to stop pursuing the Philistia army, so the Philistia soldiers returned to their homes.
47 And Saul received the kingdom, by lot he inherits the office [of ruling] over Israel: and he fought against all his enemies round about, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against the children of Edom, and against Baethaeor, and against the king of Suba, and against the Philistines: wherever he turned, he was victorious.
After Saul became the ruler/king of the Israeli people, his army fought against their enemies in many areas. They fought against armies of the Moab people-group, the Ammon people-group, the Edom people-group, the kings of Zobah [city/area], and the Philistia people-group. Wherever the Israeli army fought, they defeated their enemies.
48 And he wrought valiantly, and struck Amalec, and rescued Israel out of the hand of them that trampled on him.
Saul’s army fought bravely and defeated the [very tall] descendants of Amalek. His army rescued the Israelis from those who had (plundered/forcefully taken things from) them.
49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Jessiu, and Melchisa: and [these were] the names of his two daughters, the name of the firstborn Merob, and the name of the second Melchol.
Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malchishua. He also had two daughters, Merab and her younger sister Michal.
50 And the name of his wife was Achinoom, the daughter of Achimaa: and the name of his captain of the host was Abenner, the son of Ner, son of a kinsman of Saul.
Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of Saul’s army was Abner, who was the son of Saul’s uncle Ner.
51 And Kis [was] the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abenezer, [was] son of Jamin, son of Abiel.
Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were both sons of Abiel.
52 And the war was vehement against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, and any valiant man, then he took them to himself.
All the time that Saul was alive, his army fought against the Philistia army. And whenever Saul saw a young man who was (brave/not afraid to fight) and strong, he forced him to join his army.
