1 Samuel 13:23-14

Revised Standard Version

²³ And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

Jonathan Surprises and Routs the Philistines

14 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on yonder side.” But he did not tell his father. ² Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gib′e-ah under the pomegranate tree which is at Migron; the people who were with him were about six hundred men, ³ and Ahi′jah the son of Ahi′tub, Ich′abod’s brother, son of Phin′ehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. ⁴ In the pass,^[a] by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side; the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. ⁵ The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

⁶ And Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us; for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” ⁷ And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that your mind inclines to;^[b] behold, I am with you, as is your mind so is mine.”^{[c] 8} Then said Jonathan, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up; for the Lord has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” ¹¹ So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hid themselves.” ¹² And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me; for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” ¹³ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him; ¹⁴ and that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, was of about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre^[d] of land. ¹⁵ And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.

¹⁶ And the watchmen of Saul in Gib′e-ah of Benjamin looked; and behold, the multitude was surging hither and thither.^{[e] 17} Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Number and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. ¹⁸ And Saul said to Ahi′jah, “Bring hither the ark of God.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel. ¹⁹ And while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more; and Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” ²⁰ Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. ²¹ Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with^[f] the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. ²² Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in the hill country of E′phraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. ²³ So the Lord delivered Israel that day; and the battle passed beyond Beth-a′ven.