1 Samuel 14:29

29 Then Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble on the land! See now that my eyes have brightened because I have tasted a little of this honey.

1 Samuel 14:29 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 14:29

Then said Jonathan, my father hath troubled the land
The people of the land, as the Targum, the soldiers in his army; afflicted and distressed them, and made them uneasy in their minds, like troubled waters; the Arabic version is,

``my father hath sinned against the people;''

hath done them injury by forbidding them to eat. This was not wisely said by Jonathan; how much soever his father was to be blamed, it did not become him as a son thus to reflect upon him, and it might have tended to mutiny and sedition:

see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted
a little of this honey;
the benefit he received by it was very visible; it might easily be discerned that he was greatly refreshed with it, and his spirits invigorated by it; it was to be seen in the cheerfulness of his countenance, and the briskness of his eyes: and he suggests it would have had the same effect upon the people, had they eaten of it, as he had done.

1 Samuel 14:29 In-Context

27 However, Jonathan had not heard about the oath of his father with the army, so he extended the end of the staff which was in his hand, and he dipped it into the honeycomb. Then he put his hand to his mouth and his eyes gleamed.
28 Then a man from the army informed [him] and said, "Your father made the army swear a solemn [oath], saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today,'" so the army [is] exhausted.
29 Then Jonathan said, "My father has brought trouble on the land! See now that my eyes have brightened because I have tasted a little of this honey.
30 {How much more could have been done} if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder of their enemies that they had found! For now the loss among [the] Philistines [is] not great."
31 They defeated [the] Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the troops were very weary.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.