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Jonathan's Daring Plan

¹ One day Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to where the Philistines have their outpost." But Jonathan did not tell his father what he was doing.

² Meanwhile, Saul and his 600 men were camped on the outskirts of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree^[a] at Migron. ³ Among Saul's men was Ahijah the priest, who was wearing the ephod, the priestly vest. Ahijah was the son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord who had served at Shiloh.

No one realized that Jonathan had left the Israelite camp. ⁴ To reach the Philistine outpost, Jonathan had to go down between two rocky cliffs that were called Bozez and Seneh. ⁵ The cliff on the north was in front of Micmash, and the one on the south was in front of Geba. ⁶ "Let's go across to the outpost of those pagans," Jonathan said to his armor bearer. "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!"

⁷ "Do what you think is best," the armor bearer replied. "I'm with you completely, whatever you decide."

⁸ "All right, then," Jonathan told him. "We will cross over and let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we'll kill you,' then we will stop and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,' then we will go up. That will be the Lord's sign that he will help us defeat them."

¹¹ When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, "Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!" ¹² Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, "Come on up here, and we'll teach you a lesson!"

"Come on, climb right behind me," Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "for the Lord will help us defeat them!"

¹³ So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them. ¹⁴ They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.^[b]

¹⁵ Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in the camp and in the field, including even the outposts and raiding parties. And just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified.

Israel Defeats the Philistines

¹⁶ Saul's lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin saw a strange sight—the vast army of Philistines began to melt away in every direction.^{[c] 17} "Call the roll and find out who's missing," Saul ordered. And when they checked, they found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.

¹⁸ Then Saul shouted to Ahijah, "Bring the ephod here!" For at that time Ahijah was wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites.^{[d] 19} But while Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. So Saul said to the priest, "Never mind; let's get going!"^[e]

²⁰ Then Saul and all his men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other. There was terrible confusion everywhere. ²¹ Even the Hebrews who had previously gone over to the Philistine army revolted and joined in with Saul, Jonathan, and the rest of the Israelites. ²² Likewise, the men of Israel who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim joined the chase when they saw the Philistines running away. ²³ So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle continued to rage even beyond Beth-aven.

Saul's Foolish Oath

²⁴ Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, "Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies." So no one ate anything all day, ²⁵ even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest. ²⁶ They didn't dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.

²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father's command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed.^{[f] 28} But one of the men saw him and said, "Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint."

²⁹ "My father has made trouble for us all!" Jonathan exclaimed. "A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey. ³⁰ If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!"

³¹ They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint. ³² That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood. ³³ Someone reported to Saul, "Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that still has blood in it."

"That is very wrong," Saul said. "Find a large stone and roll it over here. ³⁴ Then go out among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.'"

So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there. ³⁵ Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first of the altars he built to the Lord.

³⁶ Then Saul said, "Let's chase the Philistines all night and plunder them until sunrise. Let's destroy every last one of them."

His men replied, "We'll do whatever you think is best."

But the priest said, "Let's ask God first."

³⁷ So Saul asked God, "Should we go after the Philistines? Will you help us defeat them?" But God made no reply that day.

³⁸ Then Saul said to the leaders, "Something's wrong! I want all my army commanders to come here. We must find out what sin was committed today. ³⁹ I vow by the name of the Lord who rescued Israel that the sinner will surely die, even if it is my own son Jonathan!" But no one would tell him what the trouble was.

⁴⁰ Then Saul said, "Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there."

And the people responded to Saul, "Whatever you think is best."

⁴¹ Then Saul prayed, "O Lord, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent.^[g]" Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.

⁴² Then Saul said, "Now cast lots again and choose between me and Jonathan." And Jonathan was shown to be the guilty one.

⁴³ "Tell me what you have done," Saul demanded of Jonathan.

"I tasted a little honey," Jonathan admitted. "It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?"

⁴⁴ "Yes, Jonathan," Saul said, "you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this."

⁴⁵ But the people broke in and said to Saul, "Jonathan has won this great victory for Israel. Should he die? Far from it! As surely as the Lord lives, not one hair on his head will be touched, for God helped him do a great deed today." So the people rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.

⁴⁶ Then Saul called back the army from chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines returned home.

Saul's Military Successes

⁴⁷ Now when Saul had secured his grasp on Israel's throne, he fought against his enemies in every direction—against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. And wherever he turned, he was victorious.^{[h] 48} He performed great deeds and conquered the Amalekites, saving Israel from all those who had plundered them.

⁴⁹ Saul's sons included Jonathan, Ishbosheth,^[i] and Malkishua. He also had two daughters: Merab, who was older, and Michal. ⁵⁰ Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of Saul's army was Abner, the son of Saul's uncle Ner. ⁵¹ Saul's father, Kish, and Abner's father, Ner, were both sons of Abiel.

⁵² The Israelites fought constantly with the Philistines throughout Saul's lifetime. So whenever Saul observed a young man who was brave and strong, he drafted him into his army.