15. All the Philistines in the countryside were terrified; the raiders and the soldiers in the camp trembled with fear; the earth shook, and there was great panic.
16. Saul's men on watch at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin saw the Philistines running in confusion.
17. So Saul said to his men, “Count the soldiers and find out who is missing.” They did so and found that Jonathan and the young man who carried his weapons were missing.
18. “Bring the ephod here,” Saul said to Ahijah the priest. (On that day Ahijah was carrying it in front of the people of Israel.)
19. As Saul was speaking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp got worse and worse, so Saul said to him, “There's no time to consult the Lord!”
20. Then he and his men marched into battle against the Philistines, who were fighting each other in complete confusion.
21. Some Hebrews, who had been on the Philistine side and had gone with them to the camp, changed sides again and joined Saul and Jonathan.
22. Others, who had been hiding in the hills of Ephraim, heard that the Philistines were running away, so they also joined in and attacked the Philistines,
23. fighting all the way beyond Bethaven. The Lord saved Israel that day.
24. The Israelites were weak with hunger that day, because Saul, with a solemn oath, had given the order: “A curse be on anyone who eats any food today before I take revenge on my enemies.” So nobody had eaten anything all day.
25. They all came into a wooded area and found honey everywhere.
26. The woods were full of honey, but no one ate any of it because they were all afraid of Saul's curse.
27. But Jonathan had not heard his father threaten the people with a curse; so he reached out with the stick he was carrying, dipped it in a honeycomb, and ate some honey. At once he felt much better.