1 Samuel 14:24-30

Christian Standard Bible

²⁴ and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had^[a] placed the troops under an oath:^(A) “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

²⁵ Everyone^[b] went into the forest, and there was honey on the ground. ²⁶ When the troops entered the forest, they saw the flow of honey, but none of them ate any of it^[c] because they feared the oath. ²⁷ However, Jonathan had not heard his father make the troops swear the oath. He reached out with the end of the staff he was carrying and dipped it into the honeycomb.^(B) When he ate the honey,^[d] he had renewed energy.^{[e](C) 28} Then one of the troops said, “Your father made the troops solemnly swear, ‘The man who eats food today is cursed,’ and the troops are exhausted.”

²⁹ Jonathan replied, “My father has brought trouble to the land.^(D) Just look at how I have renewed energy^[f] because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater.”