1 Samuel 14

1 And 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].

One day Jonathan, son of Saul, said to the young armor-bearer, “Come on, let's cross over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he didn't let his father know his plans.

2 And 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,

Saul was staying near Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. He had about six hundred men with him,

3 and 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.

including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, priest of the Lord in Shiloh. No one realized Jonathan had left.

4 And 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.

Cliffs stood on both sides of the pass that Jonathan planned to cross to reach the Philistine garrison, one called Bozez and the other Seneh.

5 The one edge [is] fixed on the north over-against Michmash, and the one on the south over-against Gibeah.

The cliff to the north was on the Michmash side, the one to the south on the Geba side.

6 And 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.'

Jonathan said to the young armor-bearer, “Come on, let's cross over to the garrison of these heathen men. Maybe the Lord will help us out. It's not a problem for the Lord to win, whether by many or by few.”

7 And 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.'

“You choose what you want to do,” the armor-bearer replied. “I'm with you whatever you decide!”

8 And Jonathan saith, 'Lo, we are passing over unto the men, and are revealed unto them;

“Let's go then!” Jonathan said. “We'll cross over in their direction so they can see us.

9 if 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;

If they tell us, ‘Wait there until we come down to you,’ we will wait where we are and we won't go up to them.

10 and 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.

But if they say, ‘Come on up to us,’ we'll climb up, for that will be the sign that the Lord has handed them over to us.”

11 And 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.'

So both of them let themselves be seen by Philistine garrison. “Hey, look!” shouted the Philistines. “The Hebrews are coming out of the holes they were hiding in.”

12 And 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.'

The men from the garrison called down to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up here, and we'll teach you a thing or two!” “Follow me up,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the Lord has handed them over to Israel.”

13 And 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.

So Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. Jonathan attacked and killed them, and his armor-bearer followed doing the same.

14 And 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,

In this first attack, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men over an area of 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 shaketh, and it becometh a trembling of God.

Then Philistines went into a panic, in the camp, in the field, and throughout their army. Even those in the outposts and the groups of raiders became terrified. The earth shook—this was a panic from God.

16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin see, and lo, the multitude hath melted away, and it goeth on, and is beaten down.

Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the Philistine army melting away, scattering in all directions.

17 And 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.

Saul told the soldiers with him, “Do a roll-call and find out who isn't here with us.” When they did the roll-call, they discovered that Jonathan and his armor-bearer weren't there.

18 And 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.

Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the Ark of God here.” (At the time the Ark of God traveled with the Israelites.)

19 And 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.'

But as Saul was speaking to the priest, the commotion coming from the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul told the priest, “Forget it!”

20 And 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.

Then Saul and all his army assembled and went into battle. They discovered the Philistines were in total disarray, attacking each other with swords.

21 And 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,

The Hebrews who had previously sided with the Philistines, and who were with them in their camp, switched sides and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.

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.

When all the Israelites who had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running away, they also joined in chasing after the Philistines to attack them.

23 And Jehovah saveth Israel on that day, and the battle hath passed over to Beth-Aven.

On that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle extended past Beth-aven.

24 And 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.

It was difficult for the men of Israel that day because Saul had ordered the army to take an oath, saying, “Cursed is anyone who eats anything before evening, before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So no one in the army had eaten anything.

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

When they all entered the forest they found honeycomb on the ground.

26 and 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.

While they were in the forest they saw the honey running out, but no one picked it up to eat it because they were all afraid of the oath they had taken.

27 And 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!

But Jonathan hadn't heard that his father had ordered the army to take this oath. So he stuck the end of his stick into the honeycomb, picked up a piece to eat, and he felt much better.

28 And 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.'

But one of the soldiers told him, “Your father made the army take a solemn oath, saying, ‘Cursed is anyone who eats anything today!’ That is why the men are exhausted.”

29 And 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.

“My father has caused a whole lot of trouble for everyone,” Jonathan replied. “See how well I am because I've eaten a little of this honey.

30 How 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.'

It would have been so much better if only the army had eaten plenty today from the plunder taken from their enemies! How many more Philistines would have been killed?”

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

After defeating the Philistines that day, killing them from Michmash to Aijalon, the Israelites were totally exhausted.

32 and 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.

They grabbed the plunder, taking sheep, cattle, and calves, and slaughtered them right there on the ground. But they ate them with the blood.

33 And 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.'

Saul was told, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.” “Law-breakers!” said Saul. “Roll a large stone over here right now!”

34 And 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.

Then he said, “Go around the soldiers and tell them, ‘Every man must bring me his cattle or his sheep and slaughter them here, and then eat. Don't sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood.’” Everyone in the army brought what he had and slaughtered it there that night.

35 And Saul buildeth an alter to Jehovah; with it he hath begun to build altars to Jehovah.

So Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar he had built to the Lord.

36 And 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.'

Saul said, “Let's go and chase down the Philistines during night and plunder them till dawn, leaving no survivors.” “Do what you think best,” they replied. But the priest said, “Let's ask God first.”

37 And 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.

Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and chase down the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?” But that day God didn't answer him.

38 And Saul saith, 'Draw ye nigh hither all, the chiefs of the people, and know and see in what this sin hath been to-day;

So Saul gave the order, “All you army commanders, come here so we can investigate what sin has happened today.

39 for, 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.

I swear on the life of the Lord who saves Israel, that even if it's my son Jonathan, he will have to die!” But no one of the whole army said anything.

40 And 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.'

Saul told them all, “You stand over to one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the opposite side.” “Do what you think best,” the army replied.

41 And Saul saith unto Jehovah, God of Israel, 'Give perfection;' and Jonathan and Saul are captured, and the people went out.

Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let the Thummin show.” Jonathan and Saul were identified, while everyone else was cleared.

42 And Saul saith, 'Cast between me and Jonathan my son;' and Jonathan is captured.

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

43 And 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!'

“Tell me what you have done,” Saul asked Jonathan. “I just tasted a little honey with the end of my stick,” Jonathan told him. “Here I am, and I have to die.”

44 And Saul saith, 'Thus doth God do, and thus doth He add, for thou dost certainly die, Jonathan.'

Saul said, “May God punish me very severely if you do not die, Jonathan!”

45 And 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.

But the people told Saul, “Does Jonathan have to die, the one who achieved this great victory in Israel? Absolutely not! We swear on the life of the Lord, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground, for it was with God's help that he achieved this today.” The people saved Jonathan, and he didn't die.

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

Saul stopped chasing down the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own country.

47 and 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].

After Saul had made his hold over Israel secure, he fought against all his enemies all around: Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Whatever direction he went he defeated them all.

48 And he maketh a force, and smiteth Amalek, and delivereth Israel out of the hand of its spoiler.

He fought bravely, conquering the Amalekites, saving Israel from those who plundered them.

49 And 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;

Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab, (the firstborn), and Michal, (the younger one).

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;

The name of his wife was Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of Saul's army commander was Abner, son of Ner, and Ner was Saul's uncle.

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

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

52 And 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.

Throughout Saul's lifetime there was constant war with the Philistines. Saul recruited into his army every strong warrior and every brave fighter that he met.