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1 Samuel 14:45

in 1 Samuel 14

But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for with God’s help he has accomplished this today.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far from it: as Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

KJV

And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.

This verse in 1 Samuel 14

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
What then is the meaning of what is said, "Shall Jonathan then die," unless that another would have died for the same fault? By these words of the people there is surely shown to us the power of great discernment, because in the judgment of the elect, not only must the causes of faults be weighed, but also the merits of persons. This is openly shown by these words, because Jonathan is declared not to die not because he was the son of the king, but because he had wrought great salvation in Israel.

This site's exposition

I did but taste a little honey

on 1 Samuel 14:43-45

Jonathan confesses the whole of his offense in one clause, a little honey with the end of a rod, and Saul answers with a second oath as rash as the first, thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. It is the people, not the priest and not the king, who stop the sentence: shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel, and they swear that not one hair of his head shall fall. Saul's own army overrules Saul's own vow to save the man who won the day, and the text lets that stand without comment on either oath.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Against the Pelagians 1.33 · Written before 420.

on 1 Samuel 14:43-45

Jonathan tasted of a honeycomb on a rod, and his eyes were enlightened, and his life was in danger because he acted through ignorance. For Scripture testifies to the fact that he did not know that his father had given strict orders that no one was to taste any food until the victory of the Lord was accomplished. However, the Lord was so angered that the lot disclosed him hiding, and he confessed openly, saying, "I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod, which was in my hand, and behold I must die."
The Medieval Church1 voice

on 1 Samuel 14:44-45

In this passage it should be noted that the king twice uttered an oath above concerning the killing of Jonathan, whom nevertheless, overcome by the insistence of the people, he did not kill. What does it mean that he swore, and by no means kept the assertion of his oath? But from this matter two lessons come to us, namely that we ought to be both cautious and discerning. Cautious indeed, lest we swear; discerning, if we swear to do perverse things. For he who takes care not to swear cannot possibly commit perjury.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

With God - In concurrence with God, he hath wrought this salvation. God is so far from being offended with Jonathan, that he hath graciously owned him in the great service of this day.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

And the people said - “Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid! As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground.” Here was a righteous and impartial jury, who brought in a verdict according to the evidence: No man should die but for a breach of the law of God; but Jonathan hath not broken any law of God; therefore Jonathan should not die. And because he should not, therefore he shall not.

The words behind it

32 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand it said

    vaiyomerH5595305 times

  • הָעָ֜םthe people

    haamH59711873 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H4135510 times

  • שָׁא֗וּלSaul

    shaulH7586402 times

  • הֲֽיוֹנָתָ֤ן׀¿ Jonathan

    hayonatanH312943 times

  • יָמוּת֙will he die

    yamutH4191839 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwho

    ʾasherH8345497 times

  • עָ֠שָׂהhe has done

    ʾasahH62132628 times

  • הַיְשׁוּעָ֨הthe deliverance

    hayshuahH3444

  • הַגְּדוֹלָ֣ה<the> great

    hagedolahH1419526 times

  • הַזֹּאת֮<the> this

    hazotH2063603 times

  • בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל֒in Israel

    beyisraelH34782507 times

  • חָלִ֗ילָהfar be it

    chalilahH248621 times

  • חַי־[by] [the] life

    chai-H2416498 times

  • יְהוָה֙of Yahweh

    yahwehH30686520 times

  • אִם־if

    ʾim-H5181069 times

  • יִפֹּ֞לit will fall

    yipolH5307435 times

  • מִשַּׂעֲרַ֤תone of [the] hair[s] of

    misaaratH8185

  • רֹאשׁוֹ֙head his

    roshoH7218599 times

  • אַ֔רְצָה[the] ground towards

    ʾartzahH7762504 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H35884482 times

  • עִם־with

    ʾim-H59731050 times

  • אֱלֹהִ֥יםGod

    ʾelohimH4302601 times

  • עָשָׂ֖הhe has acted

    ʾasahH62132628 times

  • הַיּ֣וֹםthe day

    haiyomH31172304 times

  • הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this

    hazehH20881180 times

  • וַיִּפְדּ֥וּand they redeemed

    vaiyifduH6299

  • הָעָ֛םthe people

    haamH59711873 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H85310935 times

  • יוֹנָתָ֖ןJonathan

    yonatanH312943 times

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H38085168 times

  • מֵֽת׃ סhe died

    metH4191839 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Acts 27:34

    So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”

    it leads to

    • Matthew 10:30

      And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Kings 1:52

      And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    2 Corinthians 6:1

    As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 12:15

      See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.

    • 1 Corinthians 3:9

      For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

    • 1 Peter 4:10

      As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.

    • Galatians 2:21

      I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.

    • 2 Corinthians 5:18–20

      All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

  • Through

    1 Kings 1:52

    And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 14:11

      “Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About 1 Samuel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Commentary on 1 Kings, Book 5, Chapter 4; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 1.33; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and W. G. Blaikie, The First Book of Samuel (Expositor's Bible).