Scriptures

New King James Version (NKJV)

1 Samuel 14
²⁶ And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.
²⁷ But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.
²⁸ Then one of the people said, "Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ’Cursed is the man who eats food this day.’ " And the people were faint.
²⁹ But Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
³⁰ How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"
³¹ Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint.
³² And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.
³³ Then they told Saul, saying, "Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood!" So he said, "You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day."
³⁴ And Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ’Bring me here every man’s ox and every man’s sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ " So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there.
³⁵ Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar that he built to the Lord.
³⁶ Now Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." Then the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."