1 Kādā dienā Jonatāns, Saula dēls, sacīja savam puisim, kas nesa viņa ieročus: "Nāc, mēģināsim tuvoties filistiešu sardzei, kas atrodas tur pretējā pusē." Bet savam tēvam viņš nekā neteica. 2 Sauls bija apmeties Gibeas ārmalā zem granātkoka, kas atrodas Migronā; un karotāju, kas bija pie viņa, varēja būt ap seši simti. 3 Tur bija arī Ahija, Ahituba dēls, kas bija Šīlo svētnīcas, Tā Kunga priestera, Ēļa dēla Pinehasa dēla Ihaboda brālis, un nēsāja efodu; bet ļaudis nezināja, ka Jonatāns bija aizgājis. 4 Bet pie šaurās pārejas, kurai Jonatāns lūkoja tikt pāri, lai nokļūtu filistiešu sardzei tuvāk, atradās divas smailas klints radzes - viena šai pusē, otra viņā pusē; vienas smailes vārds bija Bocecs, bet otrai vārds bija Sene. 5 Viena stāvi slējās uz ziemeļiem pret Mikmašu, otra uz dienvidiem pret Gibeu. 6 Tad Jonatāns sacīja savam puisim, ieroču nesējam: "Nāc, dosimies tur pāri pret šo neapgraizītās tautas sardzi; varbūt Tas Kungs dos mums veiksmi, jo Tam Kungam neviens nevar aizliegt izcīnīt uzvaru vai nu ar daudz, vai arī ar maz ļaudīm." 7 Tad viņa ieroču nesējs tam sacīja: "Dari itin visu, kas tavā sirdī; ej droši, redzi, es iešu tev līdzi, jo es esmu vienis prātis ar tevi." 8 Tad Jonatāns sacīja: "Redzi, mēs dosimies tur pāri pie tiem vīriem, un mēs viņiem parādīsimies negaidot. 9 Un, ja tie mums uzsauc: stāviet mierā, kamēr mēs pie jums nonāksim, - tad paliksim stāvam savās vietās un nekāpsim augšā pie viņiem. 10 Bet, ja gadītos, ka tie mums saka: nāciet augšā pie mums, - tad kāpsim augšā, jo tad Tas Kungs tos ir nodevis mūsu rokā, un tā ir mums zīme." 11 Kad nu tie abi pēkšņi parādījās filistiešu sardzei, tad filistieši sacīja: "Redzi, ebreji nāk ārā no alām, kur tie bija paslēpušies." 12 Un sardzes vīri sauca Jonatānam un viņa ieroču nesējam, sacīdami: "Nāciet pie mums augšā! Mēs jums iedosim labu mācību." Tad Jonatāns sacīja savam ieroču nesējam: "Kāp man pakaļ, jo Tas Kungs ir tos devis Israēla rokā!" 13 Tad Jonatāns rāpās ar rokām un kājām augšā un viņa ieroču nesējs aiz viņa. Un tie krita Jonatāna priekšā, un viņa ieroču nesējs pēc tam tos nonāvēja pavisam. 14 Un šajā pirmajā kaujā, ko izcīnīja Jonatāns un viņa ieroču nesējs, krita divdesmit vīru uz tik liela lauka gabala, ko vēršu jūgs apar pus dienā. 15 Tad nometnē izcēlās izbailes gan ļaudīs, gan kareivjos, pat sardzes vīri un izsūtītie sirotāju pulki drebēja bailēs; un zeme trīcēja un radīja izbailes, it kā tās būtu paša Dieva uzsūtītas. 16 Kad Saula izlūki Gibeā Benjamīna ciltī redzēja, ka tas pulks tur šķīda un klīda šurpu turpu, 17 tad Sauls sacīja kareivjiem, kas bija pie viņa: "Pārskaitiet ļaudis, lai mēs redzam, kas no mums ir aizgājis!" Un tie nostājās rindās, un redzi, tur nebija Jonatāna un viņa ieroču nesēja. 18 Tad Sauls pavēlēja Ahijam: "Atnes šurp Dieva šķirstu," - jo Dieva šķirsts tolaik bija pie Israēla bērniem. 19 Un, kamēr Sauls vēl sarunājās ar priesteri, tikmēr troksnis filistiešu nometnē pieauga un vērsās plašumā. Un Sauls sacīja priesterim: "Apturi savu roku!" 20 Tad Sauls un visa tauta, kas bija pie viņa, sasaucās un devās uzbrukumā, un redzi, tur jau bija zobens pret zobenu un visai liels apjukums. 21 Un arī ebreji, kuri ilgāku laiku bija bijuši pie filistiešiem nometnē un bija līdz ar tiem kopā devušies no visas apkārtnes uz kaujas lauku, tagad arīdzan pārgāja pie Israēla, kas bija Saula un Jonatāna pusē. 22 Tāpat arī visi Israēla vīri, kas bija savrup paslēpušies Efraima kalnos, kad tie dzirdēja, ka filistieši metušies bēgt, sāka vajāt viņus, tiem uzbrukdami. 23 Tā Tas Kungs tanī dienā izglāba Israēlu, bet pati kauja sniedzās līdz Bet-Avenai. 24 Un tanī dienā Israēla vīri ļoti nogura, jo Sauls bija uzlicis tautai lāstu, sacīdams: "Nolādēts tas vīrs, kas ko ēdīs, pirms nāks vakars un iekāms es nebūšu atriebies saviem ienaidniekiem!" Un tā neviens no viņiem neaiztika ēdamo. 25 Un visa tauta devās mežā, un tur bija medus uz lauka. 26 Kad ļaudis ienāca mežā, redzi, tur pilēja medus, bet neviens necēla savu roku pie mutes, jo viņi bijās lāsta. 27 Bet Jonatāns to nebija dzirdējis, ka viņa tēvs bija uzlicis lāstu tautai, un viņš izstiepa savu šķēpa galu, kas bija viņa rokā, iemērca to medus šūnās un cēla savu roku pie mutes; tad viņa acis kļuva skaidras. 28 Tad kāds no ļaudīm ieminējās, sacīdams: "Tavs tēvs likdams uzlika lāstu tautai, sacīdams: nolādēts tas vīrs, kas šodien ko ēd!" Un tā tauta nogura. 29 Tad Jonatāns sacīja: "Mans tēvs grūž visu zemi postā! Redziet, cik skaidras ir kļuvušas manas acis, kopš es esmu kādu lāsi no šī medus nobaudījis. 30 Bet cik daudz labāk vēl būtu bijis, ja ļaudis šodien būtu spēcīgi ēduši no savu ienaidnieku laupījuma, ko tie ir ieguvuši; tāpēc nu arī filistiešu sakāve vēl nav bijusi tik liela." 31 Taču tanī dienā tie kāva filistiešus no Mikmašas līdz Ajalonai, kaut arī karotāji bija ļoti noguruši. 32 Bet pret vakaru tauta metās laupīt, un tie ņēma sīklopus, vēršus un teļus, kāva tos turpat nost un ēda tos ar visām asinīm. 33 Kad tas tika pateikts Saulam, paziņojot: redzi, tauta apgrēkojas pret To Kungu, ēzdama gaļu kopā ar asinīm, - tad viņš sacīja: "Jūs esat noziegušies! Atveliet man tagad šurp lielu akmeni!" 34 Un Sauls sacīja: "Iejaucieties ļaužu vidū un sakiet tiem: atvediet pie manis ikviens savu vērsi un ikviens savu avi un nokaujiet tos šinī te vietā un ēdiet, bet neapgrēkojieties pret To Kungu, ka jūs ēdat gaļu kopā ar asinīm!" Un tā ikviens no viņiem naktī atveda savu vērsi, kas bija viņa īpašums, un tos tur nokāva. 35 Tad Sauls uzcēla altāri Tam Kungam; tas bija pirmais altāris, ko viņš cēla Tam Kungam. 36 Un Sauls sacīja: "Dzīsimies filistiešiem pakaļ šai naktī un aplaupīsim tos, līdz kamēr rīta gaisma aust, un neatstāsim no viņiem dzīvu nevienu!" Un tie sacīja: "Dari, kā tev patīk." Bet priesteris teica: "Lai vispirms mēs še stājamies Dieva priekšā." 37 Kad Sauls prasīja Dievam: "Vai man doties vajāt filistiešus? Vai Tu tos dosi Israēla rokā?" - tad Tas Kungs viņam tanī dienā neatbildēja. 38 Tad Sauls sacīja: "Nāciet šurp, visi tautas vadoņi, meklējiet un izdibiniet, kas bijis šodien šīs apgrēcības vaininieks! 39 Tik tiešām, ka Tas Kungs dzīvo, kas ir Israēlu izglābis, un, jebšu tas būtu mans dēls Jonatāns, tam ir jāmirst!" Bet neviens no visas tautas viņam neatbildēja. 40 Un atkal viņš sacīja visam Israēlam: "Jūs būsit vienā pusē, bet es un mans dēls Jonatāns būsim otrā pusē." Bet kara tauta Saulam atbildēja: "Dari, kā tev patīk." 41 Tad Sauls sacīja Tam Kungam, Israēla Dievam: "Dari zināmu patiesību!" Tad Jonatāns un Sauls ar meslu tika apzīmēti, bet tauta izgāja bez vainas. 42 Tad Sauls pavēlēja: "Metiet meslus par mani un par manu dēlu Jonatānu!" Un mesli krita par ļaunu Jonatānam. 43 Un Sauls vaicāja Jonatānam: "Saki man, ko tu esi izdarījis?" Un Jonatāns viņam sacīja: "Es tikai ar sava šķēpa smaili, kas bija man rokā, esmu nogaršojis lāsi medus; vai tāpēc man tagad jāmirst?" 44 Tad Sauls sacīja: "Lai Dievs man dara tā un vēl vairāk, bet, Jonatān, tev tiešām ir jāmirst!" 45 Tad ļaudis iebilda un sacīja Saulam: "Vai Jonatānam ir jāmirst, kas Israēlam sagādāja šo lielo uzvaru? Nebūt ne! Tik tiešām, ka Tas Kungs dzīvo, ne matam nebūs nokrist no viņa galvas! Jo viņš to šodien ir veicis kopā ar Dievu." Un tā tauta Jonatānu atbrīvoja, un viņam nebija jāmirst. 46 Tad Sauls pārtrauca filistiešu vajāšanu un devās atpakaļ kalnā; arī filistieši atgriezās paši savās vietās. 47 Bet Sauls bija sagrābis varu pār Israēlu, un viņš karoja visapkārt pret visiem saviem ienaidniekiem: pret Moābu, pret Amona bērniem un pret Edomu, pret Cobas ķēniņiem un pret filistiešiem. Un it visus, pret kuriem viņš vērsās, viņš visur uzvarēja. 48 Un viņš rīkojās drosmīgi un sakāva amalekiešus, un izglāba Israēlu no viņu laupītāju rokām. 49 Un Saulam bija dēli: Jonatāns, Išvijs un Malhišs, un viņa abu meitu vārdi bija: pirmdzimtās - Meraba, bet jaunākās - Mihala. 50 Un Saula sievas vārds bija Ahinoāma, Ahimaaca meita; bet viņa karaspēka virspavēlnieka vārds bija Abners, Nera, Saula tēvabrāļa, dēls. 51 Un Kīšs, Saula tēvs, un Ners, Abnera tēvs, abi bija Abiēla dēli. 52 Bet karš pret filistiešiem, kamēr Sauls dzīvoja, bija briesmīgs. Un, kad Sauls redzēja kādu stipru un varenu cīnītāju, viņš to pievienoja savam pulkam.
Jonathan's Daring Deed
1 One day Jonathan said to the young man who carried his weapons, “Let's go across to the Philistine camp.” But Jonathan did not tell his father Saul, 2 who was camping under a pomegranate tree in Migron, not far from Gibeah; he had about six hundred men with him. 3 (The priest carrying the ephod was Ahijah, the son of Ichabod's brother Ahitub, who was the son of Phinehas and grandson of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh.) The men did not know that Jonathan had left.
4 In Michmash Pass, which Jonathan had to go through to get over to the Philistine camp, there were two large jagged rocks, one on each side of the pass: one was called Bozez and the other Seneh. 5 One was on the north side of the pass, facing Michmash, and the other was on the south side, facing Geba.
6 Jonathan said to the young man, “Let's cross over to the camp of those heathen Philistines. Maybe the Lord will help us; if he does, nothing can keep him from giving us the victory, no matter how few of us there are.”
7 The young man answered, “Whatever you want to do, I'm with you.”
8 “All right,” Jonathan said. “We will go across and let the Philistines see us. 9 If they tell us to wait for them to come to us, then we will stay where we are. 10 But if they tell us to go to them, then we will, because that will be the sign that the Lord has given us victory over them.”
11 So they let the Philistines see them, and the Philistines said, “Look! Some Hebrews are coming out of the holes they have been hiding in!” 12 Then they called out to Jonathan and the young man, “Come on up here! We have something to tell you!”
Jonathan said to the young man, “Follow me. The Lord has given Israel victory over them.” 13 Jonathan climbed up out of the pass on his hands and knees, and the young man followed him. Jonathan attacked the Philistines and knocked them down, and the young man killed them. 14 In that first slaughter Jonathan and the young man killed about twenty men in an area of about half an acre. 15 All the Philistines in the countryside were terrified; the raiders and the soldiers in the camp trembled with fear; the earth shook, and there was great panic.
The Defeat of the Philistines
16 Saul's men on watch at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin saw the Philistines running in confusion. 17 So Saul said to his men, “Count the soldiers and find out who is missing.” They did so and found that Jonathan and the young man who carried his weapons were missing. 18 “Bring the ephod here,” Saul said to Ahijah the priest. (On that day Ahijah was carrying it in front of the people of Israel.) 19 As Saul was speaking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp kept getting worse, so Saul said to him, “There's no time to consult the Lord!” 20 Then he and his men marched into battle against the Philistines, who were fighting each other in complete confusion. 21 Some Hebrews, who had been on the Philistine side and had gone with them to the camp, changed sides again and joined Saul and Jonathan. 22 Others, who had been hiding in the hills of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines were running away, so they also joined in and attacked the Philistines, 23 fighting all the way beyond Bethaven. The Lord saved Israel that day.
Events after the Battle
24 The Israelites were weak with hunger that day, because Saul, with a solemn oath, had given the order: “A curse be on anyone who eats any food today before I take revenge on my enemies.” So nobody had eaten anything all day. 25 They all came into a wooded area and found honey everywhere. 26 The woods were full of honey, but no one ate any of it because they were all afraid of Saul's curse. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father threaten the people with a curse; so he reached out with the stick he was carrying, dipped it in a honeycomb, and ate some honey. At once he felt much better. 28 But one of the men told him, “We are all weak from hunger, but your father threatened us and said, ‘A curse be on anyone who eats any food today.’”
29 Jonathan answered, “What a terrible thing my father has done to our people! See how much better I feel because I ate some honey! 30 How much better it would have been today if our people had eaten the food they took when they defeated the enemy. Just think how many more Philistines they would have killed!”
31 That day the Israelites defeated the Philistines, fighting all the way from Michmash to Aijalon. By this time the Israelites were very weak from hunger, 32 and so they rushed over to what they had captured from the enemy, took sheep and cattle, slaughtered them on the spot, and ate the meat with the blood still in it. 33 Saul was told, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood in it.”
“You are traitors!” Saul cried out. “Roll a big stone over here to me.” 34 Then he gave another order: “Go among the people and tell them all to bring their cattle and sheep here. They are to slaughter them and eat them here; they must not sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood in it.” So that night they all brought their cattle and slaughtered them there. 35 Saul built an altar to the Lord, the first one that he built.
36 Saul said to his men, “Let's go down and attack the Philistines in the night, plunder them until dawn, and kill them all.”
“Do whatever you think best,” they answered.
But the priest said, “Let's consult God first.”
37 So Saul asked God, “Shall I attack the Philistines? Will you give us victory?” But God did not answer that day. 38 Then Saul said to the leaders of the people, “Come here and find out what sin was committed today. 39 I promise by the living Lord, who gives Israel victory, that the guilty one will be put to death, even if he is my son Jonathan.” But no one said anything. 40 Then Saul said to them, “All of you stand over there, and Jonathan and I will stand over here.”
“Do whatever you think best,” they answered.
41 Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Lord, why have you not answered me today? Lord, God of Israel, answer me by the sacred stones. If the guilt is Jonathan's or mine, answer by the Urim; but if it belongs to your people Israel, answer by the Thummim.” The answer indicated Jonathan and Saul; and the people were cleared. 42 Then Saul said, “Decide between my son Jonathan and me.” And Jonathan was indicated. 43 Then Saul asked Jonathan, “What have you done?”
Jonathan answered, “I ate a little honey with the stick I was holding. Here I am—I am ready to die.”
44 Saul said to him, “May God strike me dead if you are not put to death!”
45 But the people said to Saul, “Will Jonathan, who won this great victory for Israel, be put to death? No! We promise by the living Lord that he will not lose even a hair from his head. What he did today was done with God's help.” So the people saved Jonathan from being put to death.
46 After that, Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they went back to their own territory.
Saul's Reign and Family
47 After Saul became king of Israel, he fought all his enemies everywhere: the people of Moab, of Ammon, and of Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he fought he was victorious. 48 He fought heroically and defeated even the people of Amalek. He saved the Israelites from all attacks.
49 Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. His older daughter was named Merab, and the younger one Michal. 50 His wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz; his army commander was his cousin Abner, the son of his uncle Ner. 51 Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.
52 As long as he lived, Saul had to fight fiercely against the Philistines. So whenever he found a man who was strong or brave, he would enlist him in his army.
