1S14-22: How Many English Bible Translations Get This One Verse WRONG!

^“Sha’ul said to Adonai
the God of Israel,
‘Who is right?’
Y’honatan and Sha’ul
were chosen by lot,
and the people went free.”
-1 Samuel 14:40

Saul’s ridiculous inquisition by lots has begun.

The result of the first round declared all of Israel innocent which left only Jonathan and Saul.

Then the second round of lots was cast.

And I’m sure you could’ve heard a pin drop at that moment.

After the crowd waited with bated breath, the final results revealed it was Jonathan who had eaten the forbidden honey on the forest floor.

Now, a couple of points here.

First, we discover something that hasn’t been clear up to now.

What the lots revealed was NOT who had broken the oath, but who had actually eaten something on that day.

This is an important point because Jonathan never actually heard his father’s vow, so he wasn’t guilty.

Second, the Complete Jewish Bible’s and other versions’ rendering of Jonathan’s response is way off from the original Hebrew.

The verse in the CJB says…

“Yes, I tasted a little honey
with the end of the staff
in my hand. Here I am;
I’m ready to die.”

The way it’s translated makes it seem like Jonathan had accepted his guilt and thus was ready to accept death.

But that’s not what the original text says at all.

The original Hebrew is HINNETH AMUTH or הִנֵּה אָמוּת.

Literally, it means “Behold, I shall die”.

Some Hebrew scholars suggest Jonathan was posing a question here:

“Behold, I shall die?”

Other says it was an expression of sarcasm like Jonathan was saying:

“Alrighty then, it looks like I have to die”.

I think both of those interpretations have validity.

However, what I won’t accept is that Jonathan is outright admitting his guilt here.

Again, remember he did nothing wrong because he never did take a vow to not eat any food.

Now while I love the Complete Jewish Bible, I think its rendering of this verse is just off.

Onward.

Next, let’s take a look at King Saul’s response.

In his stubborn belief that he’s always right, Saul tells Jonathan…

“May God punish me even worse
if you’re not put to death, Y’honatan!”

Wow!

You know what Saul just did here?

He made another stupid and foolish vow!

Man, this guy won’t quit!

First, he makes a vow to curse anyone who eats anything in the midst of a war when food would’ve been highly welcomed.

Then he makes a vow to put to death the person who ate the honey even if it’s his son.

Finally, he vows to pretty much put himself to death if he doesn’t put his son to death.

Things are getting downright bizarre here homies.

This goes to show how making one bad promise leads to another…and another one after that.

Kind of like how when you lie, you have to make up another lie to cover up the first one…and so on and so forth.

Today’s takeaway couldn’t be better summed up than by these words of Yeshua himself:

“Again, you have heard that
our fathers were told,
‘Do not break your oath,’
and ‘Keep your vows to Adonai.’
But I tell you not to swear at all —
not ‘by heaven,’
because it is God’s throne;
not ‘by the earth,’
because it is his footstool;
and not ‘by Yerushalayim,’
because it is the city of the Great King.
And don’t swear by your head,
because you can’t make
a single hair white or black.
Just let your ‘Yes’ be a simple
‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ a simple ‘No’;
anything more than
this has its origin in evil.“
-Matthew 5:33-37