1 Samuel 14:6
And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
Study Note
Study Note
Jonathan's call to his armor-bearer — 'come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few' — stands as one of the Bible's most compact faith-formulations: divine power is not constrained by military arithmetic. The 'may be' (ulay) expresses not doubt but the open-ended trust of one who does not presume on divine action but acts in faith while leaving the outcome to God's sovereign freedom. Gideon's 300 (Judges 7), Elijah alone against 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18), and the Maccabean tradition all operate within the same theological framework of divinely enabled minority against overwhelming odds. The verse became a paradigm for Christian theology of mission in contexts of radical numerical disadvantage.
Other Translations
And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.
And Jonathan saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of these uncircumcised; it may be Jehovah doth work for us, for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.'
And Jonathan said to his young servant who had his arms, Come, let us go over to the armies of these men who have no circumcision: it may be that the Lord will give us help, for there is no limit to his power; the Lord is able to give salvation by a great army or by a small band.
Cross References
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Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing …
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It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for …