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“Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”
1 Samuel 14:44 · New Living Translation
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.
  • BSB And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
  • 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!”

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 14:39For, 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.
  • Ruth 1:17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”
  • 1 Sam 25:22God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
  • Gen 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
  • 2 Sam 12:5David’s anger burned hot against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this deserves to die!
  • 2 Sam 19:13Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually instead of Joab.’”
  • 2 Sam 12:31He brought out the people who were in it, and put them under saws, under iron picks, under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln; and he did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
  • Prov 25:16Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you eat too much, and vomit it.
  • 2 Sam 3:9God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Yahweh has sworn to David, I don’t do even so to him;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 14:44YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.