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David Learns of Saul's Death

¹ Now it came about after ^(C1)the death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(C2)the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag.² On the third day, behold, ^(C1)a man came out of the camp from Saul, ^(C2)with his clothes torn and ^(F1)dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that ^(C3)he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.³ Then David said to him, "From where do you come?" And he said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."⁴ David said to him, "^(C1)How did things go? Please tell me." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."⁵ So David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"⁶ The young man who told him said, "By chance I happened to be on ^(C1)Mount Gilboa, and behold, ^(C2)Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely.⁷ "When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I said, 'Here I am.'⁸ "He said to me, 'Who are you?' And I ^(F1)answered him, '^(C1)I am an Amalekite.'⁹ "Then he said to me, 'Please stand beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my ^(F1)life still lingers in me.'¹⁰ "So I stood beside him ^(C1)and killed him, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And ^(C2)I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."

¹¹ Then ^(C1)David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him.¹² They mourned and wept and ^(C1)fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.¹³ David said to the young man who told him, "Where are you from?" And he ^(F1)answered, "^(C1)I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite."¹⁴ Then David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid ^(C1)to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?"¹⁵ And David called one of the young men and said, "Go, ^(F1)cut him down." ^(C1)So he struck him and he died.¹⁶ David said to him, "^(C1)Your blood is on your head, for ^(C2)your mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD'S anointed.'"

David's Dirge for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ Then David ^(C1)chanted with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son,¹⁸ and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in ^(C1)the book of Jashar.

¹⁹ "^(F1)Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
^(C1)How have the mighty fallen!

²⁰ "^(C1)Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
Or ^(C2)the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
The daughters of ^(C3)the uncircumcised will exult.

²¹ "^(C1)O mountains of Gilboa,
^(C2)Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings;
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
The shield of Saul, not ^(C3)anointed with oil.

²² "^(C1)From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
^(C2)The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

²³ "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life,
And in their death they were not parted;
^(C1)They were swifter than eagles,
^(C2)They were stronger than lions.

²⁴ "O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

²⁵ "^(C1)How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan is slain on your high places.

²⁶ "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me.
^(C1)Your love to me was more wonderful
Than the love of women.

²⁷ "^(C1)How have the mighty fallen,
And ^(C2)the weapons of war perished!"