And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul said, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”
- KJV And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
- NKJV Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”
- NASB And Saul said, “May God do the same to me and more also, for you shall certainly die, Jonathan!”
- NLT “Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”
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 insists Jonathan must die, doubling down on his oath even against his own son.
Overview
Saul's reaffirmation of the death sentence, sealed with a self-curse, reveals a man more concerned with keeping his rash word than with justice or mercy. His willingness to execute his innocent son for tasting honey shows the destructive folly of his impulsive vows. The contrast with the people's coming intervention highlights how far Saul's misguided zeal has carried him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Sam 14:39As 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.
- Ruth 1:17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
- 1 Sam 25:22May God punish David, and ever so severely, if I let one of Nabal’s men survive until morning.”
- Gen 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”
- 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!
- 2 Sam 19:13And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- 2 Sam 12:31David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
- Prov 25:16If you find honey, eat just what you need, lest you have too much and vomit it up.
- 2 Sam 3:9May God punish Abner, and ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD has sworn to him:
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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 14:44 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.