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CHAPTER 14
1 And it befelled in a day, that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to his squire, a young man, Come thou, and pass we to the station of the Philistines, which is beyond that place; soothly he showed not this same thing to his father.
2 And Saul dwelled in the last part of Gibeah, under a pomegranate tree, that was in the field of Gibeah; and the people as of six hundred men was with him.
3 And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, [the] brother of Ichabod, the son of Phinehas, that was engendered of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, bare the ephod, that is, the priest’s cloth; but also the people knew not whither Jonathan had gone.
4 And betwixt the goings up, by which Jonathan enforced or endeavour-ed to pass to the station of Philistines, were stones standing forth on ever either side, and scars broken before, by the manner of teeth, on each side; name to the one was Bozez, and name to the tother was Seneh;
5 one scar was standing forth to the north against Michmash, and the tother scar to the south against Gibeah.
6 And Jonathan said to his young squire, Come thou, pass we to the station of these uncircumcised men, if in hap the Lord do for us; for it is not hard to the Lord to save, either in many, either in few.
7 And his squire said to him, Do thou all things that please thy soul; go whither thou covetest, I shall be with thee, wherever thou wilt.
8 And Jonathan said, Lo! we pass to these men; and when we appear to them,
9 if they speak thus to us, Dwell ye, till we come to you; stand we in our place, and go we not up to them.
10 And if they say, Go ye up to us; go we up to them, for the Lord hath betaken them into our hands; this shall be a sign to us.
11 Therefore ever either appeared to the station of Philistines; and the Philistines said, Lo! the Hebrews go out of [the] caves, in which they were hid.
12 And men of the station spake to Jonathan and to his squire, and said, Go ye up to us, and we shall show to you a thing. And Jonathan said to his squire, Wend we up to them, pursue [or follow] thou me; for the Lord hath betaken them into the hands of Israel.
13 And Jonathan went up, creeping on hands and feet, and his squire after him; and when they had seen the face of Jonathan, some felled down before Jonathan, his squire killed others, and pursued [or following] him.
14 And the first wound was made, which Jonathan and his squire smote, as of twenty men, in the middle part of land, which a pair of oxen was wont to ear in the day.
15 And a miracle was done in the Philistines’ tents, and by their fields, but also all the people of the Philistines’ station that went out to take prey, dreaded, and their tents were troubled; and it befelled as a miracle of God.
16 And the espyers of Saul beheld this doing, that were in Gibeah of Benjamin, and lo! a multitude of the Philistines was cast down, and fleeing away hither and thither.
17 And Saul said to the people that were with him, Seek ye, and see ye, who went away from us. And when they had sought, it was found, that Jonathan and his squire were not present.
18 And Saul said to Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of the Lord; for the ark of God was there in that time with the sons of Israel.
19 And when Saul spake to the priest, a great noise arose in the tents of the Philistines; and it increased little and little, and it sounded more clearly. And Saul said to the priest, Withdraw thine hand.
20 Therefore Saul cried, and all the people that was with him; and they came unto the place of battle, and, lo! the sword of each man was turned to his neighbour, and a full great slaying was.
21 But also the Hebrews that were with Philistines yesterday and the third day ago, and had gone up with them into their tents, turned again to be with the men of Israel, that were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 Also all the men of Israel, that had hid themselves in the hill of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines had fled; and they fellowshipped them-selves with their men in [the] battle, and as ten thousand of men were with Saul.
23 And the Lord saved Israel in that day. And the battle came till to Bethaven.
24 And men of Israel were fellow-shipped to themselves in that day; forsooth Saul swore to the people, and said, Cursed be the man that eateth bread till to eventide, till I avenge me of mine enemies. And all the people ate no bread.
25 And all the common people of the land came into a forest, in which was honey on the face of earth.
26 And so the people entered into the forest, and flowing honey appeared; and no man put his hand to his mouth thereof, for the people dreaded the oath.
27 And Jonathan heard not, when his father forbade this to the people; and Jonathan held forth the end of a little rod, that he held in his hand, and he dipped it into an honeycomb; and he turned his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were lightened.
28 And one of the people answered, and said, Thy father bound the people with an oath, and said, Cursed be the man that eateth bread today. And the people was faint.
29 And Jonathan said, My father hath troubled the land; ye see, that mine eyes be lightened, for I tasted a little of this honey;
30 how much more if the people had eaten of the prey of their enemies, that they found; whether not greater vengeance had been made in [the] Philistines?
31 Therefore they smote [the] Philistines in that day from Michmash into Aijalon. And the people was made full weary;
32 and the people turned to [the] prey, and took sheep and oxen, and calves; and they killed these beasts upon the earth; and the people ate the flesh with blood.
33 And they told to Saul, and said, that the people eating with blood had sinned to the Lord. And Saul said, Ye have trespassed; wallow ye anon to me a great stone.
34 And Saul said, Go ye forth abroad into the common people, and say ye to them, that each man bring to me his ox and his wether; and slay ye those upon this stone, and eat ye them, and ye shall not do sin to the Lord, eating them with blood. And so all the people brought each man an ox in his hand unto the night, and they killed them there.
35 And Saul builded there an altar to the Lord; and then first he began to build an altar to the Lord.
36 And Saul said, Fall we upon the Philistines in the night, and waste or destroy we them till the morrowtide shine; and leave we not of them a man alive. And the people said, Do thou all thing that seemeth good to thee in thine eyes. And the priest said, Nigh we hither to God.
37 And Saul counselled with the Lord, and said, Whether I shall pursue the Philistines? whether thou shalt betake them into the hands of Israel? And the Lord answered not to him in that day.
38 And Saul said, Bring ye hither all the corners, or the uttermost parties, or chiefs, of the people, and know ye, and see ye, by whom this sin hath fallen today.
39 The Lord the saviour of Israel liveth; for if it is done by Jonathan my son, he shall die without again-drawing. At which oath no man of all the people against-said him.
40 And he said to all Israel, Be ye separated into one part, and I with my son Jonathan shall be in the tother part. And the people answered to Saul, Do thou that, that seemeth good to thine eyes.
41 And Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, Lord God of Israel, give thou doom, what is it, that thou answerest not today to thy servant? If this wicked-ness is in me, either in Jonathan, my son, make thou showing thereof; either if this wickedness is in thy people, give thou holiness. And Jonathan was taken, and Saul, by lot; forsooth the people went out.
42 And Saul said, Send ye lot be-twixt me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
43 And Saul said to Jonathan, Show thou to me, what thou didest. And Jonathan showed to him, and said, I tasting tasted a little of honey in the end of the rod, that was in mine hand; and lo! I die.
44 And Saul said, God do to me these things, and add these things, for thou, Jonathan, shalt die by death.
45 And the people said to Saul, Therefore whether Jonathan shall die, that did this great health in Israel? this is unleaveful; the Lord liveth; none hair of his head shall fall into the earth; for he hath wrought with God today. Therefore the people delivered Jonathan, that he died not.
46 And Saul went away, and he pursued not the Philistines; and the Philistines went into their places.
47 And Saul, when his realm was stabled upon Israel, fought by compass against all his enemies, against Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines; and whither ever he turned him[self], he overcame.
48 And when his host was gathered together, he smote Amalek; and delivered Israel from the hand of his destroyers.
49 And the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua; the names of his two daughters be these, the name of the first engendered daughter was Merab, and the name of the younger was Michal.
50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; and the name of the prince of his chivalry was Abner, the son of Ner, the brother of the father of Saul.
51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner, the son of Abiel, was the father of Abner.
52 Soothly mighty battle was against Philistines in all the days of Saul; for whomever Saul saw to be a strong man, and shapely to battle, he fellow-shipped to himself that man.

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© 2001,2010,2011,2012,2013,2015 Terry Noble