21. At an earlier time some of the Hebrews had been on the side of the Philistines. They had gone up with them to their camp. But now they changed sides. They joined the people of Israel who were with Saul and Jonathan.
22. Some of the people had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim. They heard that the Philistines were running away. They quickly joined the battle and chased after them.
23. So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the fighting continued on past Beth Aven.
24. The men of Israel became very hungry that day. That's because Saul had put the army under an oath. He had said, "None of you must eat any food before evening comes. You must not eat until I've paid my enemies back for what they did. If you do, may you be under a curse!" So none of the troops ate any food at all.
25. The whole army entered the woods. There was honey on the ground.
26. When they went into the woods, they saw the honey dripping out of a honeycomb. No one put any of the honey in his mouth. That's because they were afraid of the oath.
27. But Jonathan hadn't heard that his father had put the army under an oath. Jonathan had a long stick in his hand. He reached out and dipped the end of it into the honeycomb. He put some honey in his mouth. It gave him new life.
28. Then one of the soldiers told him, "Your father put the army under a strong oath. He said, 'None of you must eat any food today. If you do, may you be under a curse!' That's why the men are weak and ready to faint."
29. Jonathan said, "My father has made trouble for the country. See how I gained new life after I tasted a little of this honey.
30. Our soldiers took food from their enemies today. Suppose they had eaten some of it. How much better off they would have been! Even more Philistines would have been killed."
31. That day the men of Israel struck the Philistines down. They killed them from Micmash to Aijalon. By that time they were tired and worn out.
32. They grabbed what they had taken from their enemies. They killed some of the sheep, cattle and calves right there on the ground. They ate the meat while the blood was still in it.
33. Then someone said to Saul, "Look! The men are sinning against the Lord. They're eating meat that still has blood in it." Saul said to them, "You have broken your promise. Roll a large stone over here at once."
34. He continued, "Go out among the men. Tell them, 'Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep. Kill them here and eat them. Don't sin against the Lord by eating meat that still has blood in it.' " So that night everyone brought the ox he had taken and killed it there.
35. Then Saul built an altar to honor the Lord. It was the first time he had done that.
36. Saul said, "Let's go down after the Philistines tonight. Let's not leave even one of them alive. Let's take everything they have before it gets light." "Do what you think is best," they replied. But the priest said, "Let's ask God for advice first."
37. So Saul asked God, "Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you hand them over to Israel?" But God didn't answer him that day.
38. Saul said to the leaders of the army, "Come here. Let's find out what sin has been committed today.