1 Samuel 14:39
For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.
Saul bound himself by a solemn oath to put to death whoever had broken his fasting command, declaring that the offender must die even if it proved to be his own son Jonathan. Jonathan had in fact tasted food unknowingly, not having heard the prohibition, while God had worked a great deliverance for Israel through him that day. Saul nevertheless pressed for the death sentence to be carried out, choosing to uphold his own pride and royal authority rather than confess that his command had been rash and wrong.
When he demanded an answer, not a man among all the people responded to him. Their silence revealed their opposition to his judgment and their conviction that Jonathan, not Saul's oath, had been the instrument of Israel's deliverance. It anticipated their open refusal to allow Jonathan to be put to death.