With what apparent ease Saul pronounced the verdict Whereas Jonathan admitted his ceremonial error—a thing for which a trespass offering would have been sufficient—Saul had committed a moral wrong, which was now publicly demonstrated in the harshness of the sentence on his son. Saul’s conscience condemned him for requiring the people to abstain from food, but he hoped by the manner in which he uttered his oath to hide his misgivings. Instead, he succeeded only in condemning himself.