Read the Bible

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 stayed two days in Ziklag.² And on the third day, behold, ^(C1)a man came from ^(F1)Saul's camp ^(C2)with his clothes torn and ^(F2)dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, ^(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 many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."⁵ Then 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 had overtaken him.⁷ "When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, 'Here I am.'⁸ "Then he said to me, 'Who are you?' And I ^(F1)answered him, '^(C1)I am an Amalekite.'⁹ "And he said to me, 'Please stand next to me and finish me off, for ^(F1)agony has seized me because my ^(F2)life still lingers in me.'¹⁰ "So I stood next to him ^(C1)and finished him off, 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 band 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 And 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 Then David said to the young man who informed him, "Where are you from?" And he ^(F1)answered, "^(C1)I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite."¹⁴ And David said to him, "How is it you were not afraid ^(C1)to reach out with your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?"¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, "Come forward, ^(F1)put him to death." ^(C1)So he struck him and he died.¹⁶ And David said to him, "^(F1)(C1)Your blood is on your head, because ^(C2)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have finished off the LORD'S anointed.'"

David's Song of Mourning for Saul and Jonathan

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

¹⁹ "^(F1)Your beauty, Israel, is ^(F2)slaughtered on your high places!
^(C1)How the mighty have 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 celebrate.

²¹ "^(C1)Mountains of Gilboa,
^(C2)May there be no dew nor rain on you, or 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 those ^(F1)slaughtered, from the fat of the mighty,
^(C2)The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return ^(F2)unstained.

²³ "Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in ^(F1)life,
And in their deaths they were not separated;
^(C1)They were swifter than eagles,
^(C2)They were mightier than lions.

²⁴ "Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with jewelry,
Who put gold jewelry on your apparel.

²⁵ "^(C1)How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan is ^(F1)slaughtered on your high places.

²⁶ "I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been ^(F1)a close friend to me.
^(C1)Your love for me was more wonderful
Than the love of women.

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