1 Samuel 14:23-32
New American Standard Bible
24Now 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.
25All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.
26When the people entered the forest, behold, there was honey dripping; but no man put his hand to his mouth, because the people feared the oath.
27However, 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.
28Then one of the people responded and said, 'Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’?' And the people were weary.
29Then Jonathan said, 'My father has troubled the land. See now that my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much more, if only the people had freely eaten today of the spoils of their enemies which they found! For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.'
King James Version
Chapter 14
23So the Lord saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven. 24And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
25And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.
26And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
27But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
28Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
29Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 14
23So the Lord saved Israel that day. The battle extended beyond Beth-aven, 24and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath: "The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed." So none of the troops tasted any food.
25Everyone went into the forest, and there was honey on the ground.
26When the troops entered the forest, they saw the flow of honey, but none of them ate any of it because they feared the oath.
27However, Jonathan had not heard his father make the troops swear the oath. He reached out with the end of the staff he was carrying and dipped it into the honeycomb. When he ate the honey, he had renewed energy.
28Then one of the troops said, "Your father made the troops solemnly swear, ‘The man who eats food today is cursed,’ and the troops are exhausted."
29Jonathan replied, "My father has brought trouble to the land. Just look at how I have renewed energy because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater."
New Living Translation
Chapter 14
23So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle continued to rage even beyond Beth-aven.
24Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, 'Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening — before I have full revenge on my enemies.' So no one ate anything all day,
25even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest.
26They didn’t dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.
27But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed.
28But one of the men saw him and said, 'Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.'
29My father has made trouble for us all!' Jonathan exclaimed. 'A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey.
30If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!'
English Standard Version
24And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies." So none of the people had tasted food.
25Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground.
26And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
27But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright.
28Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’" And the people were faint.
29Then Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great."
New International Version
25The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.
26When they went into the woods, they saw the honey oozing out; yet no one put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
27But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.
28Then one of the soldiers told him, "Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food today!’ That is why the men are faint."
29Jonathan said, "My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?"
New King James Version
24And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.
25Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground.
26And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
27But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.
28Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint.
29But Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
30How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?”
