³⁹ 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.

⁵ David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!

⁴⁴ “Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.”

Saul’s Foolish Oath

²⁴ Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies.” So no one ate anything all day,

² The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad,^[a] ceremonially clean or unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t.

¹⁰ But Saul took an oath in the name of the Lord and promised, “As surely as the Lord lives, nothing bad will happen to you for doing this.”

¹⁶ “You will surely die, Ahimelech, along with your entire family!” the king shouted.

³¹ As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”

⁶ So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”