As surely as the LORD who saves Israel lives, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must die!” But not one of the troops said a word.
Parallel translations
- WEB For, as Yahweh lives, who saves Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him.
- KJV For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.
- NKJV For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not a man among all the people answered him.
- NASB For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall assuredly die!” But not one of all the people answered him.
- NLT I vow by the name of the Lord who rescued Israel that the sinner will surely die, even if it is my own son Jonathan!” But no one would tell him what the trouble was.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul rashly swears that the guilty party must die, even if it is his own son Jonathan, and the people stay silent.
Overview
Saul compounds one rash oath with another, binding himself by a vow that endangers Jonathan. The people's silence may reflect their knowledge of Jonathan's innocence or their fear. The verse exposes Saul's pattern of impulsive vows that bring trouble, and it sets up the agonizing confrontation between the king's word and his valiant son's life.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
- 2 Sam 12:5David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
- 1 Sam 14:24Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
- Eccl 9:2It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.
- 1 Sam 28:10Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.”
- 1 Sam 19:6Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
- 1 Sam 22:16But the king replied, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!”
- 1 Sam 20:31For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingship shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 14:39 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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