So Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Why have You not answered Your servant this day? If the fault is with me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim; but if the fault is with the men of Israel, respond with Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected, but the people were cleared of the charge.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore Saul said to Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Show the right.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen, but the people escaped.
- KJV Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
- NKJV Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped.
- NASB Therefore, Saul said to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were selected by lot, but the people were exonerated.
- NLT Then Saul prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, please show us who is guilty and who is innocent.” Then they cast sacred lots, and Jonathan and Saul were chosen as the guilty ones, and the people were declared innocent.
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 appeals to the Lord to 'show the right,' and the lot falls on Jonathan and Saul, clearing the people.
Overview
By the lot, understood as God's own disposing, the matter narrows to the royal pair. Saul's prayer to the God of Israel to reveal the truth shows the seriousness with which lots were regarded. The outcome moves the inquiry toward Jonathan, setting up the painful disclosure that the 'offense' was his unwitting tasting of honey.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Acts 1:24And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen
- 1 Sam 10:20–21Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected.
- Josh 7:16–18So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.
- Prov 16:33The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.
- Jonah 1:7“Come!” said the sailors to one another. “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity that is upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
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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 14:41 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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