| 1 | And the day cometh that Jonathan son of Saul saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of the Philistines, which [is] on the other side of this;` and to his father he hath not declared [it]. |
| 2 | And Saul is abiding at the extremity of Gibeah, under the pomegranate which [is] in Migron, and the people who [are] with him, about six hundred men, |
| 3 | and Ahiah, son of Ahitub, brother of I-Chabod, son of Phinehas son of Eli priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, bearing an ephod; and the people knew not that Jonathan hath gone. |
| 4 | And between the passages where Jonathan sought to pass over unto the station of the Philistines [is] the edge of a rock on the one side, and the edge of a rock on the other side, and the name of the one is Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. |
| 5 | The one edge [is] fixed on the north over-against Michmash, and the one on the south over-against Gibeah. |
| 6 | And Jonathan saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of these uncircumcised; it may be Jehovah doth work for us, for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.` |
| 7 | And the bearer of his weapons saith to him, `Do all that [is] in thy heart; turn for thee; lo, I [am] with thee, as thine own heart.` |
| 8 | And Jonathan saith, `Lo, we are passing over unto the men, and are revealed unto them; |
| 9 | if thus they say unto us, `Stand still till we have come unto you,` then we have stood in our place, and do not go up unto them; |
| 10 | and if thus they say, `Come up against us,` then we have gone up, for Jehovah hath given them into our hand, and this to us [is] the sign. |
| 11 | And revealed are both of them unto the station of the Philistines, and the Philistines say, `Lo, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves.` |
| 12 | And the men of the station answer Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons, and say, `Come up unto us, and we cause you to know something.` And Jonathan saith unto the bearer of his weapons, `Come up after me, for Jehovah hath given them into the hand of Israel.` |
| 13 | And Jonathan goeth up on his hands, and on his feet, and the bearer of his weapons after him; and they fall before Jonathan, and the bearer of his weapons is putting to death after him. |
| 14 | And the first smiting which Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons have smitten is of about twenty men, in about half a furrow of a yoke of a field, |
| 15 | and there is a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people, the station and the destroyers have trembled -- even they, and the earth shaketh, and it becometh a trembling of God. |
| 16 | And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin see, and lo, the multitude hath melted away, and it goeth on, and is beaten down. |
| 17 | And Saul saith to the people who [are] with him, `Inspect, I pray you, and see; who hath gone from us?` and they inspect, and lo, Jonathan and the bearer of his weapons are not. |
| 18 | And Saul saith to Ahiah, `Bring nigh the ark of God;` for the ark of God hath been on that day with the sons of Israel. |
| 19 | And it cometh to pass, while Saul spake unto the priest, that the noise which [is] in the camp of the Philistines goeth on, going on and becoming great, and Saul saith unto the priest, `Remove thy hand.` |
| 20 | And Saul is called, and all the people who [are] with him, and they come in unto the battle, and, lo, the sword of each hath been against his neighbour -- a very great destruction. |
| 21 | And the Hebrews [who] have been for the Philistines as heretofore, who had gone up with them into the camp, have turned round, even they, to be with Israel who [are] with Saul and Jonathan, |
| 22 | and all the men of Israel, who are hiding themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, have heard that the Philistines have fled, and they pursue -- even they -- after them in battle. |
| 23 | And Jehovah saveth Israel on that day, and the battle hath passed over to Beth-Aven. |
| 24 | And the men of Israel have been distressed on that day, and Saul adjureth the people, saying, `Cursed [is] the man who eateth food till the evening, and I have been avenged of mine enemies;` and none of the people hath tasted food. |
| 25 | And all [they of] the land have come into a forest, and there is honey on the face of the field; |
| 26 | and the people come in unto the forest, and lo, the honey dropped, and none is moving his hand unto his mouth, for the people feared the oath. |
| 27 | And Jonathan hath not heard of his father`s adjuring the people, and putteth forth the end of the rod, which [is] in his hand, and dippeth it in the honeycomb, and bringeth back his hand unto his mouth -- and his eyes see! |
| 28 | And a man of the people answereth and saith, `Thy father certainly adjured the people, saying, Cursed [is] the man who eateth food to-day; and the people are weary.` |
| 29 | And Jonathan saith, `My father hath troubled the land; see, I pray you, that mine eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. |
| 30 | How much more if the people had well eaten to-day of the spoil of its enemies which it hath found, for now, the smiting hath not been great among the Philistines.` |
| 31 | And they smite on that day among the Philistines from Michmash to Aijalon, and the people are very weary, |
| 32 | and the people make unto the spoil, and take sheep, and oxen, and sons of the herd, and slaughter on the earth, and the people eat with the blood. |
| 33 | And they declare to Saul, saying, `Lo, the people are sinning against Jehovah, to eat with the blood.` And he saith, `Ye have dealt treacherously, roll unto me to-day a great stone.` |
| 34 | And Saul saith, `Be ye scattered among the people, and ye have said to them, Bring ye nigh unto me each his ox, and each his sheep; and ye have slain [them] in this place, and eaten, and ye do not sin against Jehovah to eat with the blood.` And all the people bring nigh each his ox, in his hand, that night, and slaughter [them] there. |
| 35 | And Saul buildeth an alter to Jehovah; with it he hath begun to build altars to Jehovah. |
| 36 | And Saul saith, `Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and we prey upon them till the light of the morning, and leave not a man of them.` And they say, `All that is good in thine eyes do.` And the priest saith, `Let us draw near hither unto God.` |
| 37 | And Saul asketh of God, `Do I go down after the Philistines? dost Thou give them into the hand of Israel?` and He hath not answered him on that day. |
| 38 | And Saul saith, `Draw ye nigh hither all, the chiefs of the people, and know and see in what this sin hath been to-day; |
| 39 | for, Jehovah liveth, who is saving Israel: surely if it be in Jonathan my son, surely he doth certainly die;` and none is answering him out of all the people. |
| 40 | And he saith unto all Israel, `Ye -- ye are on one side, and I and Jonathan my son are on another side;` and the people say unto Saul, `That which is good in thine eyes do.` |
| 41 | And Saul saith unto Jehovah, God of Israel, `Give perfection;` and Jonathan and Saul are captured, and the people went out. |
| 42 | And Saul saith, `Cast between me and Jonathan my son;` and Jonathan is captured. |
| 43 | And Saul saith unto Jonathan, `Declare to me, what hast thou done?` and Jonathan declareth to him, and saith, `I certainly tasted with the end of the rod that [is] in my hand a little honey; lo, I die!` |
| 44 | And Saul saith, `Thus doth God do, and thus doth He add, for thou dost certainly die, Jonathan.` |
| 45 | And the people say unto Saul, `Doth Jonathan die who wrought this great salvation in Israel? -- a profanation! Jehovah liveth, if there falleth from the hair of his head to the earth, for with God he hath wrought this day;` and the people rescue Jonathan, and he hath not died. |
| 46 | And Saul goeth up from after the Philistines, and the Philistines have gone to their place; |
| 47 | and Saul captured the kingdom over Israel, and he fighteth round about against all his enemies, against Moab, and against the Bene-Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines, and whithersoever he turneth he doth vex [them]. |
| 48 | And he maketh a force, and smiteth Amalek, and delivereth Israel out of the hand of its spoiler. |
| 49 | And the sons of Saul are Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchi-Shua; as to the name of his two daughters, the name of the first-born [is] Merab, and the name of the younger Michal; |
| 50 | and the name of the wife of Saul [is] Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the head of his host [is] Abner son of Ner, uncle of Saul; |
| 51 | and Kish [is] father of Saul, and Ner father of Abner [is] son of Ahiel. |
| 52 | And the war is severe against the Philistines all the days of Saul; when Saul hath seen any mighty man, and any son of valour, then he doth gather him unto himself. |
