Study Desk

So he said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."

"Now then, take your stand, so that I may enter into judgment with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD that He did for you and your fathers.

"But they forgot the LORD their God, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.

"Then the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and saved you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security.

So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Then all the people said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we do not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, by asking for ourselves a king."

So Saul said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering.

I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the LORD.' So I worked up the courage and offered the burnt offering."

So all Israel went down to the Philistines, each to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, and his hoe.

So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.

So the men of the garrison responded to Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, "Come up to us and we will inform you of something." And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come up after me, for the LORD has handed them over to Israel."

And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.

So Saul said to the people who were with him, "Look carefully now and see who has left us." And when they had looked, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.

While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."

So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.

Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and before I have avenged myself on my enemies." So none of the people tasted food.

However, Jonathan had not heard it when his father put the people under oath; so he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.

So the people loudly rushed upon the spoils, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.

Then Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, 'Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating it with the blood.'" So all the people brought them that night, each one his ox with him, and they slaughtered them there.

Then Saul said, "Let's go down after the Philistines by night and take plunder among them until the morning light, and let's not leave a man among them alive." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." So the priest said, "Let's approach God here."