1 Samuel 14

1 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.

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 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,

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 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.

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 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.

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

One cliff faced north toward Micmash, and the cliff on the other side faced south toward Geba [town].

6 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.”

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 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.”

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

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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,

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 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.

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

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 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.

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

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 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.”

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 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.

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 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,

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 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.

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

So Yahweh rescued the Israelis on that day. The Israeli soldiers continued to pursue their enemies beyond Beth-Aven [town].

24 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.

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

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

They were afraid to eat any, because they had solemnly promised that they would not eat any food.

27 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!

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 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.”

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 says, “My father has troubled the land; now see that my eyes have become bright because I 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 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.”

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

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 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.”

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 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.

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

That was the first [time that he built an] altar for Yahweh.

36 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.”

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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.”

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

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

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 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!”

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

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 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.

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 goes up from after the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone 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 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].

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

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 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;

Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malchishua. He also had two daughters, Merab and her younger sister Michal.

50 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;

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

Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were both sons of Abiel.

52 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.

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.