1 And when a certain day arrived, Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man that bore his armor, Come, and let us go over to Messab of the Philistines that is over there on the other side; but he did not tell his father. 2 And Saul sat on the top of the hill under the pomegranate tree that is in Migron, and there were with him about six hundred men. 3 And Ahijah son of Ahitub, the brother of Jochebed the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, was the priest of God in Shiloh wearing an ephod: and the people did not know that Jonathan was gone. 4 And in the midst of the passage by which Jonathan sought to pass over to the encampment of the Philistines, there was both a sharp rock on this side, and a sharp rock on the other side: the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The one way was northward to one coming to Michmash, and the other way was southward to one coming to Geba. 6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bore his armor, Come, let us go over to Messab of these uncircumcised, if perhaps the Lord may do something for us; for the Lord is not straitened to save by many or by few. 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, Do all that your heart inclines toward: look, I am with you, my heart is as your heart. 8 And Jonathan said, Look, we will go over to the men, and will come down suddenly upon them. 9 If they should say thus to us, Stand aloof there until we shall send you word; then we will stand still by ourselves, and will not go up against them. 10 But if they should say thus to us, Come up to us; then we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us. 11 And they both went in to Messab of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, Look, the Hebrews come forth out of their caves, where they had hidden themselves. 12 And the men of Messab answered Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing: and Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hands of Israel. 13 And Jonathan went up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer with him; and they looked on the face of Jonathan, and he struck them, and his armor-bearer did strike them after him. 14 And the first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor-bearer effected was twenty men, with darts and slings, and pebbles of the field. 15 And there was dismay in the camp, and in the field; and all the people in Messab, and the spoilers were amazed; and they would not act, and the land was terror-struck, and there was dismay from the Lord. 16 And the watchmen of Saul looked in Gibeah of Benjamin, and, look, the army was thrown into confusion on every side. 17 And Saul said to the people with him, Number yourselves now, and see who has gone out from you: and they numbered themselves, and look, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not found. 18 And Saul said to Ahijah,⁠a Bring the ephod; for he wore the ephod in that day before Israel. 19 And it happened while Saul was speaking to the priest, that the sound in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase greatly; and Saul said to the priest, Withdraw your hands. 20 And Saul cried out and all the people that were with him, and they come to the battle: and, look, every man's sword was against his neighbor, a very great confusion. 21 And the servants who had been before with the Philistines, who had gone up to the army, turned themselves also to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 And all the Israelites who were hidden in mount Ephraim heard also that the Philistines fled; and they also gather themselves after them to battle. 23 And the Lord saved Israel in that day; and the war passed through Beth Aven; and all the people with Saul were about ten thousand men: and the battle extended itself to every city in the mount Ephraim. 24 And Saul committed a great trespass of ignorance in that day, and he lays a curse on the people, saying, Cursed is the man who shall eat bread before the evening; so I will avenge myself on my enemy: and none of the people tasted bread. 25 And all the land was dining; and Jaar was a wood abounding in swarms of bees on the face of the ground. 26 And the people went into the place of the bees, and, look, they continued speaking; and, look, there was none that put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath of the Lord. 27 And Jonathan had not heard when his father adjured the people; and he reached forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and dipped it into the honeycomb, and returned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes recovered their sight. 28 And one of the people answered and said, Your father solemnly adjured the people, saying, Cursed is the man who shall eat bread today. And the people were very faint, 29 and Jonathan knew it, and said, My father has destroyed the land: see how my eyes have received sight now that I have tasted a little of this honey. 30 Surely if the people had this day eaten freely of the captured goods of their enemies which they found, the slaughter among the Philistines would have been greater. 31 And on that day he struck some of the Philistines in Michmash; and the people were very weary. 32 And the people turned to the captured goods; and the people took flocks, and herds, and calves, and killed them on the ground, and the people ate with the blood. 33 And it was reported to Saul, saying, The people have sinned against the Lord, eating with the blood: and Saul said, In Gittaim roll a great stone here to me. 34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them to bring here every one his calf, and every one his sheep: and let them kill it on this stone and do not sin against the Lord in eating with the blood: and the people brought each one that which was in his hand, and they killed them there. 35 And Saul built an altar there to the Lord: this was the first altar that Saul built to the Lord. 36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines this night, and let us plunder among them till the day break, and let us not leave a man among them. And they said, Do all that is good in your sight: and the priest said, Let us draw near here to God. 37 And Saul inquired of God, If I go down after the Philistines, will you deliver them into the hands of Israel? And he did not answer him in that day. 38 And Saul said, Bring here all the chiefs of Israel, and know and see by whom this sin has been committed this day. 39 For as the Lord lives who has saved Israel, if answer should be against my son Jonathan, he shall surely die. And there was no one that answered out of all the people. 40 And he said to all the men of Israel, You shall be under subjection, and I and Jonathan my son will be under subjection: and the people said to Saul, Do that which is good in your sight. 41 And Saul said, Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? is the iniquity in me, or in Jonathan my son? Lord God of Israel, give clear manifestations; and if you should say this among your people Israel, give, I pray, holiness. And Jonathan and Saul are taken, and the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan: whoever the Lord shall cause to be taken by lot, let him die: and the people said to Saul, This thing is not to be done: and Saul prevailed against the people, and they cast lots between him and Jonathan his son, and Jonathan is taken by lot. 43 And Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what you have done: and Jonathan told him, and said, I did indeed taste a little honey, with the end of my staff that was in my hand, and, look! I am to die. 44 And Saul said to him, God do so to me, and more also, you shall surely die today. 45 And the people said to Saul, Shall he that has worked this great salvation in Israel be put to death this day? As the Lord lives, there shall not fall to the ground one of the hairs of his head; for the people of God have worked successfully this day. And the people prayed for Jonathan in that day, and he did not die. 46 And Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines departed to their place. 47 And Saul by lot inherits the office of ruling over Israel: and he fought against all his enemies all around, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against the children of Edom, and against Baethaeor, and against the king of Zobah, and against the Philistines: wherever he turned, he was victorious. 48 And he acted valiantly, and struck Amalek, and rescued Israel out of the hand of those who trampled on him. 49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchi-Shua: and these were the names of his two daughters, the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the second Michal. 50 And the name of his wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of his captain of the host was Abner, the son of Ner, son of a relative of Saul. 51 And Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, was son of Jamin, son of Abiel. 52 And the war was vehement against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any mighty man, and any valiant man, then he took them to himself.