Read the Bible

¹ Then on a time Ionathan the sonne of Saul sayde vnto his young man that bare his harnesse: Come, & let vs go ouer to the Philistines garison that are yonder on the other syde: and he tolde not his father.² And Saul taried in the vttermost part of Gibea vnder a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were vpo a sixe hundred men.³ And Ahia the sonne of Ahitob, Ichabods brother, the sonne of Phinehesthe sonne of Eli, was the Lordes priest in Silo, and ware an Ephod: And the people wist not that Ionathan was gone.⁴ And in the middes of the passage by which Ionathan sought to go ouer vnto the Philistines garison, there was a sharpe rocke on the one syde, & a sharpe rocke on the other syde: the one called Bozez, and the other Sene.⁵ The forefront of the one leaned northwarde towarde Michmas, & the other was southward toward Gibea.⁶ And Ionathan sayd to the young man that bare his harnesse: Come, and let vs go ouer vnto the garison of these vncircumcised, it may be that the Lorde will worke with vs: for it is no hardnesse with the Lord to saue either in manie or in fewe.⁷ And his harnesse bearer said vnto him, Do all that is in thyne heart: Go where it pleaseth thee, behold I am with thee as thyne heart lusteth.⁸ Then sayd Ionathan: Beholde, we go ouer vnto these men, and shall shewe our selues vnto them.⁹ Yf they say on this wyse to vs, Tarie vntil we come to you: then we wil stand still in our place, & not go vp vnto them.¹⁰ But and if they say, Come vp vnto vs: then we wil go vp, for the Lorde hath deliuered them into our handes: And this shalbe a signe vnto vs.¹¹ And they both shewed them selues vnto the garison of the Philistines. And the Philistines sayde: See, the Hebrues come out of the holes where they had hyd them selues in.¹² And the men of the garison aunswered Ionathan & his harnesse bearer, & sayd: Come vp to vs, and we will shewe you a thing. And Ionathan sayde vnto his harnesse bearer: Come vp after me, for the Lorde hath deliuered them into the hande of Israel.¹³ And Ionathan clymed vp vpon handes and feete, and his harnesse bearer after him: And they fell before Ionathan, & his harnesse bearer slue the after him.¹⁴ And that first slaughter whiche Ionathan & his harnesse bearer made, was vpon a twentie men, within the compasse as it were about an halfe aker of land which two [oxen plowe.]¹⁵ And there was a feare in the hoast, in the field, & among al ye people: insomuch that they that were gone out of the garrison to robbe, were afrayde also, & the earth trembled, for the feare that was sent of God.

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gibea Beniamin, sawe: And behold, the multitude were discomfited, & were smitten as they went.¹⁷ Then sayd Saul vnto the people that was with him: Searche, and see who is gone away from vs. And when they had numbred, beholde, Ionathan and his harnesse bearer were not there.¹⁸ And Saul sayd vnto Ahia: Bring hyther the arke of God. (For the arke of God was at time with the children of Israel.)¹⁹ And while Saul talked vnto ye priest, the noyse that was in the hoaste of the Philistines spred farther abrode and encreased. And Saul sayd vnto the priest: Withdrawe thyne hande.²⁰ And Saul ioyned him selfe vnto al the people that were with him, & they came to the battell, and behold euery mans sword was against his felow, and there was a very great discomfiture.²¹ Moreouer, the Hebrues that were with the Philistines before that tyme, & were come with them into all partes of the hoaste, turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Ionathan.²² And all the men of Israel also, whiche had hyd the selues in mount Ephraim, assoone as they hearde howe that the Philistines were fled, they folowed after them in the battel.²³ And so the Lorde saued Israel that day: and the battel continued vnto Bethauen.

²⁴ And when the men of Israel were kepte downe with hunger that day, Saul charged the people with an oth, saying: Cursed be the man that eateth any foode vntill night, till I be auenged of myne enemies. And so none of the people tasted any sustenaunce.²⁵ And al they of the land came to a wood, where honie lay vpon the grounde.²⁶ And the people came into the wood: And behold, the honie dropped, and no man moued his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oth.²⁷ But Ionathan hearde not whe his father charged the people with the oth, wherfore he put foorth the ende of the rod that was in his hand, and dipt it in an honie combe, & put his hande to his mouth, and his eyes receaued sight.²⁸ Then aunswered one of the people, and sayde: Thy father made the people to sweare, saying: Cursed be the ma that eateth any sustenaunce this day. And the people were faynt.²⁹ The sayd Ionathan, My father hath troubled the lande: See howe myne eyes hath receaued sight, because I tasted a litle of this honie:³⁰ Howe muche more then to day, if the people had eaten of the spoyle of their enemies whiche they found? And had there not ben then a muche greater slaughter among the Philistines?³¹ And they smote the Philistines that day, from Michmas to Aialon: And the people were exceeding faynt.³² And the people gat them to the spoyle, and toke sheepe, oxen, and calues, & slue them on the ground, and the people dyd eate them with the blood.³³ Then men tolde Saul, saying: Behold, the people sinne against the Lorde, in that they eate with the blood. And he sayde, Ye haue trespassed: Rowle a great stone vnto me this day.³⁴ And Saul sayde againe: Go abrode among the people, and bid them bring me euery man his oxe, and euery man his sheepe, and slay them here, and eate, and sinne not against the Lorde in eating with the blood. And the people brought euery man his oxe in his hande that night, and slue them there.³⁵ And Saul made an aulter vnto ye Lord: And that was the first aulter that he made vnto the Lorde.

³⁶ And Saul sayde: Let vs go downe after the Philistines by night, and spoyle them, vntil it be day in the morning, and let vs not leaue one man of them. And they sayde: Do whatsoeuer thou thinkest best. Then sayde the priest: Let vs come hyther vnto God.³⁷ And Saul asked of God: Shall I go downe after the Philistines? Wilt thou deliuer them into the handes of Israel? But he aunswered him not at that time.³⁸ And Saul sayde: Let al the chiefe of the people come hyther, and knowe and see by whom this sinne is done this day.³⁹ For as the Lorde liueth, whiche saued Israel, though it be in Ionathan my sonne, he shal dye the death. But there was no man among all the people that aunswered him.⁴⁰ Then he sayde vnto al Israel: Be ye on one syde, and I and Ionathan my sonne will be on the other syde. And the people saide vnto Saul: What thou thinkest best, that do.⁴¹ Therfore Saul saide vnto the Lorde God of Israel, geue a perfect lot. And Saul and Ionathan were caught: but the people scaped free.⁴² And Saul said: Cast lot betweene me and Ionathan my sonne. And Ionathan was caught.⁴³ Then Saul saide to Ionathan: Tell me what thou hast done. And Ionathan tolde him, and sayde: I tasted a litle honie with the ende of the rod that was in myne hand, & lo, I must dye.⁴⁴ Saul aunswered: God do so & more also to me, thou shalt dye the death Ionathan.⁴⁵ And the people said vnto Saul: Shal Ionathan dye, which hath so mightilie deliuered Israel? God forbid. As the Lord lyueth, there shall not one heere of his head fall to ye ground, for he hath wrought with God this daye. And so the people deliuered Ionathan, that he dyed not.⁴⁶ And then Saul departed vp from folowing the Philistines: And the Philistines went to their owne place.

⁴⁷ And so Saul helde the kingdome ouer Israel, and fought against all his enemies on euery side, against Moab, against the children of Ammon, against Edom, against the kinges of Zoba, and against the Philistines: And whyther soeuer he turned him selfe, he put them to the worse.⁴⁸ And he gathered his hoast together, & smote the Amalekites, & rid Israel out of the handes of them that spoyled them.⁴⁹ The sonnes of Saul were, Ionathan, Iessui, and Melchisua: And his two daughters were thus named, the elder was called Merob, and the younger Michol.⁵⁰ And the name of Sauls wife, was Ahinoa, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of his chiefe captaine, was Abner the sonne of Ner, Sauls vncle.⁵¹ And Cis was Sauls father: & Ner the father of Abner, was the sonne of Abiel.⁵² And there was sore warre against the Philistines all ye dayes of Saul: And whomsoeuer Saul sawe to be a strong man, and meete for the warre, he toke him vnto him.