1 Samuel 14

1 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].

And it happened that, on a certain day, Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the youth who bore his armor, “Come, and let us go over to the garrison of the Philistines, which is across from that place.” But he did not reveal this to his father.

2 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.

Moreover, Saul was staying in the furthermost part of Gibeah, below the pomegranate tree that was at Migron. And the people with him were about six hundred men.

3 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].

And Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, who had been born of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh, wore the ephod. But the people did not know where Jonathan had gone.

4 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.

Now there were, between the ascents along which Jonathan strove to cross to the garrison of the Philistines, rocks projecting from both sides, and, in the manner of teeth, boulders breaking out from one side and the other. The name of one was Shining, and the name of the other was Thorny.

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

One boulder projected toward the north, opposite Michmash, and the other toward the south, opposite Gibeah.

6 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.”

Then Jonathan said to the youth who bore his armor: “Come, let us go across to the garrison of these uncircumcised. And perhaps the Lord may act on our behalf. For it is not difficult for the Lord to save, either by many, or by few.”

7 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.”

And his armor bearer said to him: “Do all that is pleasing to your soul. Go wherever you wish, and I will be with you, wherever you will choose.”

8 Then Jonathan said, “Okay, come with me. We will cross the valley to where the Philistia army is, and allow them to see us.

And Jonathan said: “Behold, we will cross over to these men. And when we will be seen by them,

9 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.

if they have spoken to us in this way, ‘Stay until we come to you,’ let us stand still in our place, and not ascend to them.

10 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.”

But if they will say, ‘Ascend to us,’ let us ascend. For the Lord has delivered them into our hands. This will be the sign to us.”

11 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!”

And so, both of them appeared before the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “See, the Hebrews have come out from the holes in which they had been hiding.”

12 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!”

And the men of the garrison spoke to Jonathan and to his armor bearer, and they said, “Ascend to us, and we will show you something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer: “Let us ascend. Follow me. For the Lord has delivered them into the hands of Israel.”

13 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.

Then Jonathan ascended, crawling on his hands and feet, and his armor bearer after him. And then, some fell before Jonathan, others his armor bearer killed as he was following him.

14 In that first battle the two of them killed about 20 Philistia soldiers in an area that was about half an acre.

And the first slaughter was made when Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty of the men, in the midst of an area of land that a yoke of oxen would usually plow in a day.

15 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.

And a miracle occurred in the camp, out in the fields. And all of the people of their garrison, who had gone out in order to plunder, were stupefied. And the earth trembled. And it happened as a miracle from God.

16 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.

And the watchmen of Saul, who were at Gibeah of Benjamin, looked out, and behold, a multitude was thrown down and dispersed, this way and that.

17 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.

And Saul said to the people who were with him, “Inquire and see who has gone out from us.” And when they had inquired, it was found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not present.

18 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.

And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of the God.” (For the ark of God was, in that day, with the sons of Israel in that place.)

19 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.”]

And while Saul spoke to the priest, there arose a great tumult in the camp of the Philistines. And it was increasing, little by little, and it was being heard more clearly. And Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”

20 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.

Then Saul, and all the people who were with him, cried out together, and they went to the place of the conflict. And behold, each one’s sword had been turned against his neighbor, and there was a very great slaughter.

21 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.

Moreover, the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines yesterday and the day before, and who had ascended with them into the camp, turned back so that they might be with those of Israel who were with Saul and Jonathan.

22 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.

Likewise, all the Israelites who had hidden themselves on mount Ephraim, hearing that the Philistines had fled, joined themselves with their own in the battle. And there were with Saul about ten thousand men.

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

And the Lord saved Israel on that day. But the fight continued as far as Bethaven.

24 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.

And the men of Israel were joined together on that day. And Saul made the people swear, saying, “Cursed be the man who will eat bread, until evening, until I am avenged of my enemies.” And the entire people did not consume bread.

25 The Israeli army went into the forest, and they found honeycombs on the ground, but they did not eat any honey.

And all the common people went into a forest, in which there was honey on the surface of the field.

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

And so the people entered the forest, and there appeared flowing honey, but no one drew his hand near his mouth. For the people were afraid of the oath.

27 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.

But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people to an oath. And so he extended the top of the staff that he was holding in his hand, and he dipped it in a honeycomb. And he turned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were brightened.

28 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].”

And in response, one of the people said, “Your father has bound the people by an oath, saying: ‘Cursed be the man who will eat any bread this day.’” (For the people were faint.)

29 Jonathan exclaimed, “My father has caused trouble for all of us! See how refreshed/strong I am after eating a little honey!

And Jonathan said: “My father has troubled the land. You have seen for yourselves that my eyes were brightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.

30 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!”

How much more so, if the people had eaten from the plunder that they find with their enemies? Would not a greater slaughter have been accomplished among the Philistines?”

31 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.

Therefore, on that day, they struck down the Philistines, from Michmash as far as Aijalon. But the people were exceedingly wearied.

32 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.

And turning to the spoils, they took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and they slew them on the ground. And the people ate with blood.

33 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!”

Then they reported to Saul, saying that the people had sinned against the Lord, eating with blood. And he said: “You have transgressed. Roll a great stone to me, here and now.”

34 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.

And Saul said: “Disperse yourselves among the common people, and tell each one of them to bring to me his ox and his ram, and to slay them upon this stone, and to eat, so that you will not sin against the Lord, in eating with blood.” And so, each one, out of all the people, brought his ox, by his own hand, throughout the night. And they slew them there.

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

Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. And so, it was then that he first began to build an altar to the Lord.

36 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].”

And Saul said: “Let us fall upon the Philistines by night, and lay waste to them even until the morning light. And let us not leave behind a man among them.” And the people said, “Do all that seems good in your eyes.” And the priest said, “Let us draw near to God in this place.”

37 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.

And Saul consulted the Lord: “Shall I pursue the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hands of Israel?” And he did not respond to him on that day.

38 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.

And Saul said: “Bring here every single leader of the people. And we shall know and see by whom this sin was committed this day.

39 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].

As the Lord lives, who is the Savior of Israel, even if it were done by my son Jonathan, without retraction he shall die.” In this, no one among all the people contradicted him.

40 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.”

And he said to all of Israel, “Separate yourselves on one side, and I, with my son Jonathan, will be on the other side.” And the people responded to Saul, “Do what seems good in your eyes.”

41 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.

And Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel: “O Lord, God of Israel, grant a sign: Why is it that you will not respond to your servant this day? If this iniquity is in me, or in my son Jonathan, grant an indication. Or if this iniquity is in your people, grant a sanctification.” And Jonathan and Saul were discovered, but the people were released.

42 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.

And Saul said, “Cast lots between myself and Jonathan, my son.” And Jonathan was caught.

43 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]?”

Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan revealed to him, and said: “Truly, I tasted a little honey with the top of the staff that was in my hand. And behold, I shall die.”

44 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!”

And Saul said, “May God do these things to me, and may he add these other things, for you shall surely die, Jonathan!”

45 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.

And the people said to Saul: “Why should Jonathan have to die, who has accomplished this great salvation in Israel? This is wrong. As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head should fall to the ground. For he has wrought with God this day.” Therefore, the people freed Jonathan, so that he would not die.

46 Then Saul ordered his soldiers to stop pursuing the Philistia army, so the Philistia soldiers returned to their homes.

And Saul withdrew, and he did not pursue the Philistines. And the Philistines went away to their own places.

47 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.

And Saul, his kingdom having been confirmed over Israel, was fighting against all his enemies on all sides: against Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and Edom, and the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned himself, he was successful.

48 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.

And gathering together an army, he struck Amalek. And he rescued Israel from the hand of those who would lay waste to them.

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

Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua. And as for the names of his two daughters: the name of the firstborn daughter was Merab, and the name of the younger one was Michal.

50 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.

And the name of the wife of Saul was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the first ruler of his military was Abner, the son of Ner, the first cousin of Saul.

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

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

52 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.

Now there was a powerful war against the Philistines during all the days of Saul. And so, whomever Saul had seen to be a strong man, and fit for battle, he joined him to himself.