14 One day^[a] Saul’s son Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come on! Let’s go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father ² Saul, who was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah, under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron. The people who were with Saul amounted to about six hundred men, ³ including Ahijah son of Ahitub. (Ahitub was the brother of Ichabod and the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh.) Ahijah was wearing the special vest.^[b]

The men did not know that Jonathan was gone.

⁴ On each side of the pass which Jonathan needed to cross in order to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a cliff with a sharp outcropping of rock. The name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other was Seneh. ⁵ One cliff rose up on the north side in front of Mikmash, and the other was on the south side in front of Geba.

⁶ Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come on! Let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised fellows. It may be that the Lord will exert his power for us, for the Lord is not limited. He can save by many or by few.”

⁷ His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is in your heart. Give it all you’ve got! I am with you heart and soul.”

⁸ Then Jonathan said, “Here’s the plan. We will cross over to them, and we will let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you!’ then we will stay right where we are. We will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us!’ then we will go up, because the Lord has delivered them into our hand. This will be the sign for us.”

¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, “What do you know! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have been hiding!” ¹² When Jonathan and his armor bearer appeared, the men of the garrison responded, “Come up to us. We have something to show you!”

So Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Follow me, because the Lord has delivered them into Israel’s hands.”

¹³ Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor bearer followed him. The Philistines fell wounded before Jonathan, and his armor bearer followed him, killing them as he went. ¹⁴ That first blow struck by Jonathan and his armor bearer killed about twenty men within about half an acre of land.^[c]

¹⁵ Panic spread throughout the entire Philistine army, both those in the camp and those in the open country. The garrison and the raiding parties also panicked. The earth quaked, and there was a panic sent by God. ¹⁶ Saul’s sentries at Geba^[d] of Benjamin looked out and saw the noisy crowd melting away and scattering in every direction.

¹⁷ Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Take roll call, and see who is missing from us.” When they took roll call, they realized that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

¹⁸ Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the special vest^[e] of God here.” (The special vest of God was with the Israelites at that time.) ¹⁹ While Saul was talking to the priest, the uproar in the camp of the Philistines continued and got even louder, so Saul said to the priest, “Stop drawing lots!”^[f]

²⁰ Saul and all the troops who were with him assembled and joined the battle. There they saw the panicked Philistines striking each other with their swords. ²¹ Then the Hebrews from all around, who had previously sided with the Philistines and had joined them in their camp, deserted them to join the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they joined the battle and stuck to the Philistines in close pursuit. ²³ So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle progressed as far as Beth Aven.

²⁴ The men of Israel were pushed to their limits that day, because Saul had imposed an oath on the people: “Cursed is the man who eats any food until it is evening and I have been avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted any food.

²⁵ The entire army had come into a forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the army came into the forest, they saw the honey dripping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, because the people were afraid as a result of the oath. ²⁷ Jonathan, however, had not heard his father put the people under oath. So he stuck out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, dipped it into the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and he was revived.^[g]

²⁸ Then one of the soldiers responded and said, “Your father specifically placed the people under an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’ That is why the people are so weak.”

²⁹ Then Jonathan said, “My father has caused trouble for the land. See how I have been revived, because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better it would have been today if the people had eaten freely from the plunder taken from their enemies. The slaughter among the Philistines would have been even greater.”

³¹ The Israelites struck down the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Aijalon. The troops were very weak, ³² so they pounced on the plunder. They took sheep, cattle, and calves and slaughtered them on the spot, and they ate them with the blood still in them. ³³ Saul was told, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord. They are eating meat with the blood still in it.”

Saul said, “You have acted unfaithfully. Roll a large stone over here to me right now!” ³⁴ Then he said, “Spread out among the people and tell them, ‘Have each man bring his ox or his sheep here to me. Kill them here, and eat them, but do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.’” So that night each person brought his ox with him, and together they killed them there.

³⁵ Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar which he built to the Lord. ³⁶ Saul said, “We will pursue the Philistines by night and take plunder from them until the morning light. We will not allow a man of them to survive.”

The people responded, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

But the priest said, “We should consult God here.”

³⁷ So Saul inquired of God, “Shall I pursue the Philistines? Will you deliver them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day. ³⁸ So Saul said, “Come over here, all you pillars^[h] of the people, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. ³⁹ For, as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who responded to him. ⁴⁰ Then Saul said to all Israel, “You stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”

The people said to Saul, “Do whatever seems good to you.”

⁴¹ So Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, ⎣“Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the fault is with the men of Israel,⎦^[i] respond with Thummim.”

Then Jonathan and Saul were chosen, and the people were not chosen.

⁴² Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. ⎣The person the Lord identifies by lot shall be put to death.”

But the people said to Saul, “Absolutely not.” But Saul overruled the people, so they cast lots between him and Jonathan his son,⎦^[j] and Jonathan was selected by lot.

⁴³ Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done!”

Jonathan told him, “I just tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand, and now I must die?”

⁴⁴ Saul said, “May God punish me severely and double it,^[k] if you are not put to death, Jonathan.”

⁴⁵ The people said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die? He has accomplished this great deliverance for Israel. Absolutely not!^[l] As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, because he has worked with God today!” So the people rescued Jonathan, so that he did not die. ⁴⁶ Then Saul gave up pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back to their own places.

Saul’s Many Victories

⁴⁷ When Saul had assumed the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side: against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment.^{[m] 48} He fought valiantly.^[n] He struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who had plundered them.

Saul’s Family

⁴⁹ The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malkishua. The names of his two daughters were Merab, the firstborn, and Michal, the younger. ⁵⁰ The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahima’az. The name of the commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.^{[o] 51} Kish was Saul’s father, and Ner, Abner’s father, was the son of Abiel.

⁵² There was fierce warfare against the Philistines all the days of Saul. Whenever Saul noticed any heroic man or strong warrior, he would take him into his service.

20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? Am I guilty of something? What is my sin against your father that makes him seek my life?”

² Jonathan said to him, “A curse on me if that happens.^[a] You will not die. Look, my father does nothing whether important or unimportant without telling me about it. Why would my father hide this from me? It is not so.”

³ But David took an oath and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, so he might say, ‘Do not let Jonathan know about this, or he will be very upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives, and as surely as your soul lives, there is only a step between me and death.”

⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Ask me for whatever you really want, and I will do it for you.”

⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Listen, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am expected to dine with the king, but let me go so that I can hide in the countryside until the evening of the third day. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David urged me to excuse him so that he could run to Bethlehem, his hometown, because it is the annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘That is fine,’ your servant will be at peace. But if it really displeases him, then you will know that he is planning evil. ⁸ You must show kindness to your servant, because you have made a covenant in the name of the Lord with me, your servant. But if I am guilty of anything, kill me yourself. Why should you bring me to your father?”

⁹ Jonathan said, “A curse on me if that occurs, because if I knew that my father was planning to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”

¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father gives you a harsh response?”

¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So the two of them went out into the field. ¹² Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel! About this time tomorrow or the day after, when I have tested my father to see if he is favorably inclined toward David, I will send word to you so that you hear about it. ¹³ May the Lord punish Jonathan severely and double it,^[b] if my father is planning to harm you and I do not disclose it to you and send you on your way, so that you may go in peace. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ You must show the mercy of the Lord to me, not only while I am still alive, so that I do not die, ¹⁵ but you also must not cut off your mercy from my house forever—no, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord demand an accounting from David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ Then Jonathan had David repeat the oath, because of the love that he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸ Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ On the third day,^[c] go down quickly to the place where you hid on the previous occasion and stay by the stone named Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows off to the side of it, as if I were shooting at a target. ²¹ I will send the boy out and say, ‘Go and find the arrows!’ If I yell to the boy, ‘Hey! The arrows are closer this way. Come and pick them up,’ then you can come to me, because you are safe and, as the Lord lives, there is no danger. ²² But if I yell to the boy, ‘Hey! The arrows are farther out,’ then go on your way, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³ Concerning this matter that you and I have spoken about, the Lord stands as a witness between you and me^[d] forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the countryside. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. ²⁵ The king sat at his usual seat next to the wall. Jonathan was across from him,^[e] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. ²⁶ Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, since he thought, “Something has happened to him to make him ceremonially unclean. That’s what it is—he must be unclean.”

²⁷ On the day after the new moon, the second day of the month, David’s place was still empty. So Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, “David begged me for permission to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city. My brother has ordered me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please excuse me so I can go and see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverted, unfaithful woman! Don’t I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?^{[f] 31} For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, you will not be established, nor will your kingship. So send for him and bring him to me, because he must surely die!”

³² Jonathan answered his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”

³³ Saul threw his spear at him to hit him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. ³⁴ Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger, and he ate no food on the second day of the month, for he grieved for David, because his father had treated David so shamefully.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out into the field at the time he had set with David. He took a young servant boy with him. ³⁶ He said to his boy, “Run out and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ When the boy reached the area where Jonathan’s arrow had landed, Jonathan yelled to the boy, “Isn’t the arrow farther out from you?” ³⁸ Jonathan shouted to the boy, “Go faster! Hurry up! Don’t be slow!” Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrows and came back to his master. ³⁹ The boy did not know anything about what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. ⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his equipment to his boy and told him, “Go on ahead. Carry these things into the city.”

⁴¹ As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side of the mound.^[g] He fell down with his face to the ground and bowed three times. They kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more. ⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the Lord’s name. May the Lord stand between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.” David got up and left, and Jonathan went back into the city.