Therefore Saul said to Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Show the right.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen, but the people escaped.
Parallel Translations
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Therefore Saul said to Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Show the right.” Jonathan and Saul were chosen, but the people escaped.
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Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
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Therefore Saul said unto the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Declare the right.' And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot; but the people escaped.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 14:41 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 1:24 They prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen
- Joshua 7:16-18 So Joshua rose up early in the morning and brought Israel near by their tribes. The tribe of Judah was selected. He brought near the family of Judah, and he selected the family of the Zerahites. He brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was selected. He brought near his household man by man, and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
- 1 Samuel 10:20-21 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by their families; and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen; but when they looked for him, he could not be found.
- Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh.
- Jonah 1:7 They all said to each other, “Come! Let’s cast lots, that we may know who is responsible for this evil that is on us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Cause the lot to fall on him that hath…
Cause the lot to fall on him that hath broken the oath: but he doth not consider his presumption in commanding the same oath.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 14:41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God…
1Sa 14:41 Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect [lot]. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.
Ver. 41. Give a perfect lot.] Or, Show the innocent, as Tremelius rendereth it. Saul was so scrupulous, that he would not so much as name a guilty man, or sinner, but in casting of lots, instead of saying, Show the innocent or guilty, he said, Show the upright or innocent person. Wherein, saith Piscator, God overruled his tongue, Et ita per sortem Ionathan innocens declaratas est a Deo.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Give a perfect lot, or declare (for giving is…
Give a perfect lot, or declare (for giving is oft put for declaring or pronouncing, as Deu 11:29; 13:1,2; Pr 9:9) the perfect or guiltless person; i.e. O Lord, so guide the lot, that it may discover who is guilty in this matter, and that it may clear the innocent.
The people escaped, to wit, the danger; they were pronounced guiltless.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel,....…
Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel,.... After the division was made between him and his son on one side, and the people of Israel on the other, and everything was ready for the drawing of the lot; Saul put up to God the following petition, as knowing that though the lot is cast into the lap, the disposing of it is of the Lord:
give a perfect lot; or man, let it fall upon the guilty person, and let the innocent go free; the Targum is,"cause it to come in truth;''
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let truth and righteousness take place; let the right man be found out, and taken; the petition seems to be too arrogant and presumptuous, and insinuates as if the Lord did not always dispose the lot aright:
and Saul and Jonathan were taken; the lot being cast, it fell upon them:
but the people escaped; from the lot, and appeared to be innocent, clear of any blame; so that it was not the sin they had been guilty of, in eating flesh with the blood, which was the cause that no answer was returned.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Perfect lot - Or, declare the perfect, or guiltless…
Perfect lot - Or, declare the perfect, or guiltless person. That is, O Lord, so guide the lot, that it may discover who is guilty in his matter, and who innocent. Escaped - They were pronounced guiltless.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 41. Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect…
Verse 41. Lord God of Israel, Give a perfect lot.] Both the Vulgate and Septuagint add much to this verse: And Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, Lord God of Israel, give judgment. Why is it that thou hast not answered thy servant to-day? If the iniquity be in me, or Jonathan my son, make it manifest. Or if this iniquity be in thy people, give sanctification.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Sa 14:41-42. Give a perfect lot — Or, Declare…
1Sa 14:41-42. Give a perfect lot — Or, Declare the perfect, or guiltless person. That is, O Lord, so guide the lot, that it may discover who is guilty in this matter, and who innocent. The people escaped — They were pronounced guiltless. Jonathan was taken — God so ordered the lot; not that he approved Saul’s execration, (1Sa 14:24,) or his oath that the transgressor should die, (1Sa 14:39,) nor that he would expose Jonathan to death; but that Saul’s folly might be chastised, when he saw what danger it had brought upon his eldest and most excellent son; and that Jonathan’s innocence might be cleared.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Give a perfect lot - The phrase is obscure,…
Give a perfect lot - The phrase is obscure, but the meaning is probably as in the margin.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain A sign, (judicium;) "pass sentence;" declare why, &c. (Haydock)…
A sign, (judicium;) "pass sentence;" declare why, &c. (Haydock) --- Hebrew, "give purity." Shew who is innocent. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "give the proofs" by the Thummim, which they seem to have read. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 41. Give a perfect lot] This and not the…
41. Give a perfect lot] This and not the marginal rendering “Shew the innocent” is the best explanation of an obscure phrase which occurs nowhere else.
The Sept. however has a very different reading, which with some emendation may be rendered, “And Saul said, O Lord God of Israel, why hast thou not answered thy servant to day? If the iniquity be in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim: and if it be in thy people Israel, give Thummim.” If this reading is correct, it points to the conclusion that the “judgment of Urim and Thummim” was obtained by a special method of casting lots, which was employed on the present occasion. See further on 1Sa_28:6. The Heb. text implies that the ordinary lot only was used.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (41) Give a perfect lot.—The rendering in the margin,…
(41) Give a perfect lot.—The rendering in the margin, “show the innocent,” is a better and more accurate rendering of the Hebrew. “Give a perfect lot” is the translation given by Rabbi D. Kimchi. Dean Payne Smith observes that “there are few mistakes of the English Version which have not some good authority for them, as King James’ translators were singularly well versed in Jewish literature, while they seem strangely to have neglected the still higher authority of the ancient versions.”
In the forty-first and in the following verse the LXX. version is lengthened out with a long paraphrase, which, however, contains no fact of additional interest.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:41 Casting sacred lots involved the Urim and Thummim…
14:41 Casting sacred lots involved the Urim and Thummim (Exod 28:30; Lev 8:8), which David also used when soliciting God’s guidance (1 Sam 23:2; 30:8; 2 Sam 2:1). The Urim and Thummim were two small objects (perhaps flat stones, sticks, or arrows) that may have been cast like dice. They would provide a positive answer, a neutral response, or a negative answer.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.