1   ‘Come, let us go over to the Philistine post beyond that ridge’; but he did not tell his father. 2   Saul, at the time, had his tent under the pomegranate-tree at Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah; and he had about six hundred men with him. 3   The ephod was carried by Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh. 4   Nobody knew that Jonathan had gone. On either side of the pass through which Jonathan tried to make his way over to the Philistine post stood two sharp columns of rock, called Bozez ^note and Seneh; ^note 5   one of them was on the north towards Michmash, and the other on the south towards Geba. 6   Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, ‘Now we will visit the post of those uncircumcised rascals. Perhaps the Lord will take a hand in it, and if he will, nothing can stop him. He can bring us safe through, whether we are few or many.’ 7   The young man answered, ‘Do what you will, go forward; I am with you whatever you do.’ 8   ‘Good!’ said Jonathan, ‘we will cross over and let them see us. 9   If they say, “Stay where you are till we come to you”, then we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10   But if they say, “Come up to us”, we will go up; this will be the sign that the Lord has put them into our power.’ 11   So they showed themselves to the Philistines, and the Philistines said, ‘Look! Hebrews coming out of the holes where they have been hiding!’ 12   And they called across to Jonathan and the young man, ‘Come up to us; we have something to show you.’ Jonathan said to the young man, ‘Come on, the Lord has put them into the power of Israel.’ 13   Jonathan climbed up on hands and feet, and the young man followed him. The Philistines fell in front of Jonathan, and the young man, coming behind him, dispatched them. 14   In that first attack Jonathan and his armour-bearer killed about twenty of them, like men cutting ^note a furrow across a half-acre field. 15   Terror spread through the army in the field and through the whole people; the men at the post and the raiding parties were terrified; the very earth quaked, and there was panic.

Saul anointed king

16   Saul's men on the watch in Gibeah of Benjamin saw the mob of Philistines surging to and fro ^note in confusion; 17   so he ordered the people to call the roll and find out who was missing; and they called the roll and found that Jonathan and his armour-bearer were absent. 18   Saul said to Ahijah, ‘Bring forward the ephod’, for it was he who carried the ephod at that time before Israel. ^note 19   But while Saul was still speaking, the confusion in the Philistine camp was increasing more and more, and he said to the priest, ‘Hold your hand.’ 20   Then Saul and all his men with shouting made for the battlefield, where they found the enemy fighting one another in complete disorder. 21   The Hebrews who up to now had been under the Philistines, and had been with them in camp, changed sides ^note and joined the Israelites under Saul and Jonathan. 22   All the Israelites in hiding in the hill-country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were in flight, and they also joined in and set off in hot pursuit. 23   The Lord delivered Israel that day, and the fighting passed on beyond Beth-aven.

24   Now the Israelites on that day had been driven to exhaustion. Saul had adjured the people in these words: ‘A curse be on the man who eats any food before nightfall until I have taken vengeance on my enemies.’ 25   So no one ate any food. Now there was honeycomb ^note in the country-side; 26   but when his men came upon it, dripping with honey though it was, not one of them put his hand to his mouth for fear of the oath. 27   But Jonathan had not heard his father lay this solemn prohibition on the people, and he stretched out the stick that was in his hand, dipped the end of it in the honeycomb, put it to his mouth and was refreshed. 28   One of the people said to him, ‘Your father solemnly forbade this; he said, “A curse on the man who eats food today!”’ Now the men were faint with hunger. 29   Jonathan said, ‘My father has done the people nothing but harm; see how I am refreshed by this mere taste of honey. 30   How much better if the people had eaten today whatever they took from their enemies by way of spoil! Then there would indeed have been a great slaughter of Philistines.’

31   They defeated the Philistines that day, and pursued them from Michmash to Aijalon. 32   But the people were so faint with hunger that they turned to plunder and seized sheep, cattle, and bullocks; they slaughtered them on the bare ground, and ate the meat with the blood in it. 33   Someone told Saul that the people were sinning against the Lord by eating their meat with the blood in it. ‘This is treason!’ cried Saul. 34   ‘Roll a great stone here at once.’ He then said, ‘Go about among the

Saul anointed king people and tell them to bring their oxen and sheep, and let each man slaughter his here and eat it; and so they will not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood in it.’ So as night fell each man came, driving his own ox, and slaughtered it there. 35   Thus Saul came to build an altar to the Lord, and this was the first altar to the Lord that Saul built.

36   Saul said, ‘Let us go down and make a night attack on the Philistines and harry them till daylight; we will not spare a man of them.’ The people answered, ‘Do what you think best’, but the priest said, ‘Let us first consult God.’ 37   So Saul inquired of God, ‘Shall I pursue the Philistines? Wilt thou put them into Israel's power?’; but this time he received no answer. 38   So he said, ‘Let all the leaders of the people come forward and let us find out where the sin lies this day. 39   As the Lord lives, the deliverer of Israel, even if it lies in my son Jonathan, he shall die.’ 40   Not a soul answered him. Then he said to the Israelites, ‘All of you stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other.’ 41   The people answered, ‘Do what you think best.’ Saul said to the Lord the God of Israel, ‘Why hast thou not answered thy servant today? If this guilt lie in me or in my son Jonathan, O Lord God of Israel, let the lot be Urim; if it lie in thy people Israel, ^note let it be Thummim.’ Jonathan and Saul were taken, and the people were cleared. 42   Then Saul said, ‘Cast lots between me and my son Jonathan’; and Jonathan was taken. 43   Saul said to Jonathan, ‘Tell me what you have done.’ Jonathan told him, ‘True, I did taste a little honey on the tip of my stick. 44   Here I am; I am ready to die.’ Then Saul swore a great oath that Jonathan should die. 45   But the people said to Saul, ‘Shall Jonathan die, Jonathan who has won this great victory in Israel? God forbid! As the Lord lives, not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has been at work with God today.’ So the people ransomed Jonathan and he did not die. 46   Saul broke off the pursuit of the Philistines because they had made their way home.

47   When Saul had made his throne secure in Israel, he fought against his enemies on every side, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the king ^note of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned he was successful. ^note 48   He displayed his strength by defeating the Amalekites and freeing Israel from hostile raids.

49   Saul's sons were: Jonathan, Ishyo ^note and Malchishua. These were the names of his two daughters: Merab the elder and Michal the younger. 50   His wife was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz, and his commander-in-chief was Abner son of his uncle Ner; 51   Kish, Saul's father, and Ner, Abner's father, were sons ^note of Abiel.

Saul anointed king

52   There was bitter warfare with the Philistines throughout Saul's lifetime; any strong man and any brave man that he found he took into his own service.

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