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14 One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to ·the officer who carried his armor [his armor bearer], “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine ·camp [outpost] on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
2 Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at ·the threshing floor [or Migron] near Gibeah. He had about six hundred men with him. 3 One man was Ahijah who was wearing the ·holy vest [ephod; Ex. 28:6–14]. (Ahijah was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh.) No one knew Jonathan had left.
4 There was a ·steep slope [rocky crag/cliff] on each side of the pass that Jonathan planned to go through to reach the Philistine ·camp [outpost]. The cliff on one side was named Bozez, and the cliff on the other side was named Seneh. 5 One ·cliff [crag] faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.
6 Jonathan said to his ·officer who carried his armor [armor bearer], “Come. Let’s go to the ·camp [outpost] of those men who are not circumcised [C Philistines were among the few Near Eastern people of the day who did not practice circumcision; it had special significance in Israel; Gen. 17:9–14]. Maybe the Lord will ·help [act/work something for] us. The Lord ·can give us victory if [is able to save/rescue whether] we have many people, or just a few.”
7 ·The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor [His armor bearer] said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. ·I’m with you [Our hearts/minds are one].”
8 Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you [C in order to kill them],’ we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us [C in order to fight],’ we will climb up, and the Lord will ·let us defeat them [L give them into our hands]. This will be the sign for us.”
11 When they both let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” 12 The Philistines in the ·camp [outpost] shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. ·We’ll teach you a lesson [or We have something to tell/show you]!”
Jonathan said to his ·officer [armor bearer], “Climb up behind me, because the Lord has given the Philistines ·to [L into the hands of] Israel!” 13 So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his ·officer [armor bearer] climbed just behind him. ·Jonathan struck down the Philistines [L And they fell before Jonathan] as he went, and his ·officer [armor bearer] killed ·them as he followed [those who came from] behind him. 14 In that first ·fight [attack; slaughter] Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a ·half acre [L yoke] of ground.
15 All the Philistine soldiers panicked—those in the ·camp [outpost] and those in the raiding party. ·The ground itself shook [An earthquake struck]! God had caused the panic.
16 Saul’s ·guards [watchmen] were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin when they saw the ·Philistine soldiers [L vast army; multitude] ·running in every direction [L melting away, here and there]. 17 Saul said to his army, “·Check to see who has left our camp [Call the roll and see who has left us].” When they ·checked [called the roll], they learned that Jonathan and his ·officer [armor bearer] were gone.
18 So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the ·Ark of God[a] [or ephod; C see text note; both are means of discerning God’s will].” (At that time ·it was with [or he was wearing it in front of] the Israelites.) 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Put your hand down! [C to stop the inquiry of God]”
20 Then Saul ·gathered his army [assembled; gathered] and entered the battle. They found the Philistines [L totally; greatly] confused, striking each other with their swords! 21 Earlier, there were Hebrews who had ·served [defected/gone over to] the Philistines and had stayed in their camp, but now they ·joined [went over to] the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. 22 When all the Israelites hidden in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away, they also joined the battle ·and chased the Philistines [in hot pursuit]. 23 So the Lord ·saved [rescued; delivered] the Israelites that day, and the battle ·moved on past [spread beyond] Beth Aven.
Saul Makes Another Mistake
24 The men of Israel were ·miserable [exhausted; hard pressed] that day because Saul had ·made an oath for all of them [put them under an oath]. He had said, “No one should eat food before evening and before I ·finish defeating [have had revenge on] my enemies. If he does, he will be cursed!” So no Israelite soldier ate food.
25 Now ·the whole army [L all the land] went into the woods, where there was some honey on the ground. 26 ·They came upon some ·honey [honeycomb], but no one ·took any [L put his hand to his mouth] because they were afraid of the oath. 27 [But] Jonathan had not heard ·the oath Saul had put on the army [that Saul had bound the people with a vow], so he dipped the end of his ·stick [staff] into the honey and lifted some out and ·ate it [L put his hand to his mouth]. Then ·he felt better [his eyes brightened]. 28 Then one of the soldiers told Jonathan, “Your father ·made an oath for all the soldiers [bound the people with a strict oath/vow]. He said any man who eats today will be cursed! That’s why they are so ·weak [weary; faint].”
29 Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the land! See how ·much better I feel [L my eyes have brightened] after just tasting a little of this honey! 30 It would have been much better for the men to eat the ·food [plunder; spoil] they took from their enemies today. We could have ·killed [slaughtered] many more Philistines!”
31 That day the Israelites ·defeated [attacked; struck down] the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon. After that, they were very ·tired [weary; faint]. 32 They ·had taken [rushed to the plunder, taking] sheep, ·cattle [oxen], and calves from the Philistines. Now they were so hungry they ·killed [butchered] the animals on the ground and ate them, ·without draining the blood from them [with the blood]! 33 Someone said to Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. ·They’re eating meat without draining the blood from it […by eating with the blood; Gen. 9:4; Deut. 12:23]!”
Saul said, “You ·have sinned [acted treacherously; broken faith]! Roll a large stone over here now!” 34 Then he said, “·Go [Disperse yourselves] ·to [among] the men and tell them that each person must bring his ox and sheep to me and ·kill [slaughter] it here and eat it. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating ·meat without draining the blood from it [with the blood].”
That night everyone brought his ·animals [oxen] and ·killed [slaughtered] them there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar he had built to the Lord.
36 Saul said, “Let’s go after the Philistines ·tonight [after dark] and ·rob [plunder; despoil] them. We won’t ·let any of them live [leave one of them]!”
The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”
But the priest said, “Let’s ·ask [approach; draw near to] God [C by making inquiry through the sacred lots or ephod].”
37 So Saul asked God, “Should I ·chase [L go down after] the Philistines? Will you ·let us defeat them [L give them into Israel’s hand]?” But God did not answer Saul ·at that time [that day]. 38 ·Then [So] Saul said to all the ·leaders [commanders] of his army, “Come here. Let’s find out what sin has been ·done [committed] today [C Saul believed God had not answered him because of a sin]. 39 As surely as the Lord lives who has ·saved [rescued; delivered] Israel, even if my son Jonathan did the sin, he must die.” But no one ·in the army [of all the people] spoke.
40 Then Saul said to all the Israelites, “You stand on this side. I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.”
The men answered, “Do whatever you think is best.”
41 Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “·Give me the right answer [Let the sacred lots reveal the answer; L Give Thummim; C Saul is making inquiry through the sacred lots (the Urim and Thummim) as to who sinned; Ex. 28:29–30].”
And Saul and Jonathan were picked; the ·other men went free [people were cleared/went free/escaped blame]. 42 Saul said, “Now ·let us discover if it is I or Jonathan my son who is guilty [cast sacred lots between me and Jonathan].” And Jonathan was ·picked [taken].
43 Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”
So Jonathan told Saul, “I only tasted a little honey from the end of my ·stick [staff]. ·And must I die now [Does that deserve death; or I am ready to die.]?”
44 Saul said, “Jonathan, if you don’t die, may God ·punish me terribly [do the same to me, and even more].”
45 But the ·soldiers [people] said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die? Never! He is responsible for ·saving [rescuing; delivering; L this great victory in] Israel today! As surely as the Lord lives, not even a hair of his head will fall to the ground! ·Today Jonathan fought against the Philistines with God’s help […for he has worked with God today]!” So the ·army [people] ·saved [rescued; redeemed] Jonathan, and he did not die.
46 Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and they [C the Philistines] went back to their own ·land [territory; L place].
Saul Fights Israel’s Enemies
47 When Saul ·became king [had secured/consolidated his rule/kingship] over Israel, he fought against Israel’s enemies ·all around [on every side]. He fought Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the ·king [or kings] of Zobah, and the Philistines. Everywhere Saul ·went [L turned] he ·defeated [punished; routed] Israel’s enemies. 48 He ·fought bravely [performed valiantly] and ·defeated [struck] the Amalekites. He ·saved [rescued; delivered] the Israelites from ·their enemies who had robbed [L the hand of those who plundered/pillaged] them.
49 Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. His ·older [firstborn] daughter was named Merab, and his younger daughter was named Michal. 50 Saul’s wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52 All Saul’s life ·he fought hard against [there was bitter/fierce warfare with] the Philistines. When he saw strong or brave men, he ·took [drafted] them into his ·army [service; 8:11].
31 But many ·of the people [L in the crowd] believed in Jesus. They said, “When the ·Christ [Messiah] comes, will he do more ·miracles [L signs] than this man has done?”
The Leaders Try to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees [see 1:24] heard the crowd ·whispering [arguing; murmuring; grumbling] these things about Jesus. So the leading priests and the Pharisees sent some Temple ·guards [police; officers] to ·arrest [seize] him. 33 [L Therefore] Jesus said, “I will be with you a little while longer. Then I will go back to the One who sent me. 34 You will ·look for [seek] me, but you will not find me. And you cannot come where I am [C in heaven].”
35 [L Therefore] ·Some people [The Jewish leaders; L The Jews] said to each other, “Where will this man go so we cannot find him? Will he go to the ·Greek cities where our people live [L dispersion/scattering among the Greeks; C ever since the Babylonian exile many Jewish people had lived outside the land of Israel] and teach the Greek people there? [C The Jews often used “Greeks” for Gentiles generally.] 36 What did he mean when he said, ‘You will look for me, but you will not find me,’ and ‘You cannot come where I am’?”
Jesus Talks About the Spirit
37 On the last and ·most important [L greatest] day of the feast Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. [C The feast of Shelters/Tabernacles featured a water pouring ritual that may stand in the background of Jesus’ speech.] 38 If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow out from that person’s ·heart [L belly; gut], as the Scripture says [Is. 55:1; 58:11; Ezek. 47:1–12; Zech. 14:8, compare John 4:10–11; Rev. 7:17; 22:1].” 39 Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been ·raised to glory [glorified]. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit.
The People Argue About Jesus
40 When the people heard Jesus’ words, some of them said, “This man really is the Prophet [1:21; C the “prophet like Moses” of Deut. 18:15–18].”
41 Others said, “He is the ·Christ [Messiah].”
Still others said, “The ·Christ [Messiah] will not come from Galilee. 42 The Scripture says that the ·Christ [Messiah] will come from David’s ·family [offspring; L seed; 2 Sam. 7:12–16; Ps. 89:3–4; Is. 9:7; 55:3] and from Bethlehem, the ·town [village] where David lived [Mic. 5:2].” 43 So ·the people did not agree with each other [L there was a division in the crowd] about Jesus. 44 Some of them wanted to ·arrest [seize] him, but no one was able to ·touch [L lay a hand on] him.
Some Leaders Won’t Believe
45 [L Therefore] The Temple ·guards [police; officers] went back to the ·leading [T chief] priests and the Pharisees, who asked, “Why didn’t you bring Jesus?”
46 The ·guards [police; officers] answered, “·The words he says are greater than the words of any other person who has ever spoken [L No one has ever spoken like this]!”
47 [L Therefore] The Pharisees answered them, “So Jesus has ·fooled [deceived; led astray] you also! 48 Have any of the ·leaders [rulers; authorities] or the Pharisees believed in him? No! 49 But ·these people [L this crowd], who know nothing about the law, are ·under God’s curse [accursed].”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to see Jesus before [see 3:1–21], was in that group. He said, 51 “·Our law does not [L Does our law…?] judge a person without hearing him and knowing what he has done.”
52 They answered, “Are you from Galilee, too? ·Study the Scriptures, and you will learn [L Search and see] that no prophet comes from Galilee.”
Some of the earliest surviving Greek copies do not contain 7:53—8:11.
|53 And everyone left and went home.
A Prayer Against an Enemy
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
109 God, I praise you.
Do not be silent.
2 ·Wicked [L The mouth of evil] people and ·liars [L the mouth of deceivers] have ·spoken [L opened] against me;
they ·have told lies about me [L speak against me with lying tongues].
3 They have ·said hateful things about me [L surrounded me with hateful words]
and attack me for no reason.
4 They ·attacked [accuse; charge] me, ·even though I loved them
and prayed for them [in return for my love and prayer].
5 I was good to them, but they ·repay [reward] me with evil.
I loved them, but they hate me in return.
6 They say about me [C this added phrase suggests another speaker, or perhaps the psalmist is speaking about his accusers], “·Have an evil person work [L Appoint an evil person] against him,
and let an ·accuser [adversary] stand ·against him [L at his right hand; Job 1:6].
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let even his prayers ·show [be counted as] his ·guilt [sin].
8 Let his ·life [L days] be ·cut short [brief],
and let another man ·replace him as leader [take his position/office; Acts 1:20].
9 Let his children become orphans
and his wife a widow [C socially vulnerable, dependent on others].
10 Make his children wander around, begging for food [Jer. 18:21].
Let them be forced out of the ruins in which they live.
11 Let ·the people to whom he owes money [creditors] ·take [ensnare] everything he owns [2 Kin. 4:1],
and let strangers ·steal [plunder] everything he has worked for.
12 Let no one ·show [extend to] him ·love [loyalty]
or have ·mercy [compassion] on his orphaned children.
13 Let all his descendants ·die [L be cut off]
and ·be forgotten [L their name be blotted/wiped out] by ·those who live after him [L a later generation].
14 Lord, ·remember how wicked his ancestors were [L let the guilt of his fathers be remembered],
and don’t let the sins of his mother be ·wiped [blotted] out.
15 ·Lord, always remember their sins [L Let them be before the Lord forever].
·Then make people forget about them completely [L Let memory of them be cut off from the land].
16 “He did not remember to be ·loving [loyal].
He ·hurt [persecuted; L pursued] the poor, the needy, and those who were ·sad [depressed; L brokenhearted]
·until they were nearly dead [L to their death].
17 He loved to put curses on others,
so let those same curses ·fall on [L come to] him.
He did not like to bless others,
so ·do not let good things happen to him [L let them (blessings) be far from him].
18 He ·cursed others as often as he wore clothes [L wore curses like a coat].
·Cursing others filled his body and his life,
like drinking water and using olive oil [L Let them come like water in his innards and like oil in his bones].
19 So let curses ·cover [wrap] him like ·clothes [a garment]
and ·wrap around him like a belt [L continually gird him].”
20 May the Lord do these things to those who ·accuse [charge] me,
to those who speak evil against me.
21 But you, Lord God,
·be kind to me so others will know you are good [L act on my behalf for the sake of your name].
Because your ·love [loyalty] is good, ·save [protect] me.
22 I am poor and helpless
and ·very sad [L my heart is pierced/wounded in me].
23 I am ·dying [L gone] like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees ·are weak [buckle; stumble] from fasting,
and ·I have grown thin [L my flesh is lean of fat].
25 ·My enemies insult me [L I am a reproach to them];
they look at me and shake their heads [C in scorn].
26 Lord my God, help me;
because you are ·loving [loyal], ·save me [give me victory].
27 Then they will know that ·your power has done this [L this is your hand];
they will know that you have done it, Lord.
28 They may curse me, but you bless me.
They may ·attack [L rise against] me, but they will be ·disgraced [embarrassed].
Then I, your servant, will be glad.
29 Let those who ·accuse [charge; attack] me be ·disgraced [L clothed with disgrace]
and ·covered [wrapped up] with shame like a coat.
30 I will ·thank [praise] the Lord very much [L with my mouth];
I will praise him in ·front [the midst] of many people.
31 He ·defends [L stands at the right hand of] the helpless
and ·saves them from [gives them victory over] those who ·accuse [judge] them.
5 Fools ·reject [disdain] their ·parents’ [father’s] ·correction [discipline],
but anyone who ·accepts [guards] correction is wise.
6 Much ·wealth [treasure] is in the houses of ·good [righteous] people,
but evil people get nothing but trouble.
7 Wise people use their ·words [L lips] to ·spread [scatter; disperse] knowledge,
but there is no knowledge in the ·thoughts [hearts; minds] of fools.
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