One day, Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his weapons, “Why don’t we go over there and go to the garrison of the Philistines?”. But he didn’t tell his father.

Saul sat under the pomegranate tree in Miglon at the end of Gibeah, with about six hundred people following him.

There was Ahiah the son of Ahitub, wearing an ephod. Ahitub was the brother of Igabob, the son of Phinehas, and the grandson of Eli. Eli used to be a priest of the Lord in Shiloh. Jonathan went, but the people did not know.

Jonathan will pass through the pass and go to the camp of the Philistines. There are two peaks on each side of this pass, one named Boxue and the other named Xini.

One peak faces north, opposite Mima, and one peak faces south, opposite Geba.

Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying weapons, “Why don’t we go over to the camp of the uncircumcised? Perhaps the Lord will show us his strength.”. For the Lord makes men victorious, not caring for many or few.

The weapon bearer said to him, ‘Do as you please.’. You can go up, I will follow you and be with you.

Jonathan said, “We will go over to those people so that they can see us.”.

If they say to us, ‘Stop and wait for us to come to you, then we will stop and not go up to them.’.

If they say, Come up to us, this is our evidence. We will go up, because the Lord has delivered them into our hands.

The two of them made the garrison of the Philistines see. The Philistines said, The Hebrews have come out of the cave where they hid.

The guards said to Jonathan and the armed man, ‘Come up here, we have something to show you.’. Jonathan said to the armed man, “Follow me up, because the Lord has delivered them into the hands of the Israelites.”.

Jonathan climbed up and the armed man followed him. Jonathan defeated the Philistines, and the man who carried weapons also killed them.

Jonathan and the armed men initially killed about twenty people, all within a half furrow of one acre of land.

So there was trembling in the camp, in the fields, and among all the people, both the defenders and the plunderers trembled, and the earth trembled greatly.

In Gibeah, Benjamin, Saul’s watchmen saw the army of the Philistines scattered and fleeing in all directions.

So Saul said to the people who were with him, ‘Count and see who went out from us.’. As soon as they checked, they knew that Jonathan and the armed man were not here.

At that time, the Ark of God was with the Israelites. Saul said to Ahiah, “Bring the ark of God.”.

As Saul was speaking to the priests, the noise in the camp of the Philistines grew louder and louder. And Saul said to the priests, Stop.

Saul and his followers gathered together and came to the battlefield. They saw the Philistines fighting against each other with their swords, causing great confusion.

The Hebrews who came from all directions to follow the army of the Philistines have now turned around and helped the Israelites who followed Saul and Jonathan.

The Israelites who were hiding in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, so they came out and closely pursued them.

On that day, the Lord brought victory to the Israelites and fought until Beth Aven.

Saul made the people swear, saying, Cursed be anyone who does not wait until evening to avenge their enemies and eat anything. Therefore, the people did not eat anything on this day and were extremely exhausted.

When the people entered the forest, they saw honey on the ground.

They entered the forest and saw honey flowing down, but no one dared to use their hands to take honey from the entrance, because they were afraid of the oath.

Jonathan did not hear his father make the people swear, so he stretched out the staff in his hand, dipped the tip of the staff in the beehive, and turned his hand to the entrance, and his eyes became bright.

One of the people said to him, “Your father made the people take a solemn oath, saying, ‘Cursed be what you eat today.'”. Therefore, the people became tired.

Jonathan said, My father has implicated you. You see, after tasting this little honey, my eyes lit up.

If the people eat whatever they have taken from their enemies today, will not there be more Philistines killed?

On this day, the Israelites killed the Philistines from Mimath to Aijalon. The people are very tired,

He quickly slaughtered the captured cattle, sheep, and calves on the ground, and ate the flesh with blood.

Someone told Saul, ‘The people have sinned against the Lord by eating flesh with blood.’. Saul said, You have sinned, roll a big stone to me today.

And Saul said, Scatter among the people, and say to them, Each of you bring your cattle and sheep to me, slaughter them, and eat them; do not eat flesh with blood to offend the Lord. That night, the people brought the cattle and sheep there and slaughtered them.

Saul built an altar to the Lord, which was his first altar to the Lord.

Saul said, Why don’t we go down at night to chase after the Philistines and plunder them until dawn, leaving no one behind. The people said, Go and do as you see fit. The priest said, Let us first approach God.

Saul asked God, “Can I go down and pursue the Philistines?”. Do you hand them over to the Israelites or not. This day God did not answer him.

Saul said, “All the elders of your people come up here to find out who has committed the crime today.”.

As the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if my son Jonathan sins, he will die. But none of the people answered him.

And Saul said to all Israel, Stand on one side, and my son Jonathan and I stand on the other side. The people said to Saul, “Go and do as you see fit.”.

Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, and said, Teach the truth. So they drew lots and brought out Saul and Jonathan. The people have nothing to do.

Saul said, Draw lots again, and see that it is me, my son Jonathan. Then draw Jonathan.

Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”. Jonathan said, Truly, with the staff in my hand, I dipped the tip of the staff in a little honey and tasted it. Will I die like this.

Saul said, Jonathan, you will surely die. If not, may God punish me heavily.

The people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die for his great salvation among the Israelites?”? Absolutely impossible. We swear by the living Lord that not a single hair of his will fall to the ground, because he is working with God today. So the people saved Jonathan from death.

Saul returned and did not pursue the Philistines. The Philistines also returned to their homeland.

Saul ruled over the land of Israel and constantly attacked all his enemies around him, including the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the kings of Zobah, not the Levites. Wherever he goes, he always defeats his enemies.

Saul bravely attacked the Amalekites and saved the Israelites from the hands of those who plundered them.

The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishwei, and Melchishua. His two daughters, the eldest named Mira and the second named Michal.

Saul’s wife’s name was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of Saul’s commander was Abner, the son of Ner. Ner is Saul’s uncle.

Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were both sons of Abel.

Saul often fought a great war with the Philistines during his lifetime. When Saul met capable men or warriors, he recruited them to follow him.