Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” The people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
Parallel translations
- KJV Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.
- BSB Then Saul said to all Israel, “You stand on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will stand on the other side.” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied.
- NKJV Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
- NASB Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
- NLT Then Saul said, “Jonathan and I will stand over here, and all of you stand over there.” And the people responded to Saul, “Whatever you think is best.”
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 divides the people from himself and Jonathan to cast lots and find the supposed offender.
Overview
The casting of lots was an accepted means of seeking God's verdict in Israel (Proverbs 16:33). Saul stakes the inquiry on this process, confident it will reveal the guilty party. The people's compliant deference again shows Saul driving events by his own oath, moving inexorably toward the exposure of Jonathan.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 1 Sam 14:36Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and take plunder among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” They said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near here to God.”
- 2 Sam 15:15The king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.”
- 1 Sam 14:7His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Turn and, behold, I am with you according to your heart.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 14:40 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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