Chapter 1

David Learns of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came about after athe death of Saul, when David had returned from bthe slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag.

2 On the third day, behold, aa man came out of the camp from Saul, bwith his clothes torn and 1dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that che 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, “aHow 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 aMount Gilboa, and behold, bSaul 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 1answered him, ‘aI am an Amalekite.’

9 “Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my 1life still lingers in me.’

10 “So I stood beside him aand killed him, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And bI 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 aDavid 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 afasted 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 1answered, “aI am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”

14 Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid ato stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

15 And David called one of the young men and said, “Go, 1cut him down.” aSo he struck him and he died.

16 David said to him, “aYour blood is on your head, for byour mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

David’s Dirge for Saul and Jonathan

17 Then David achanted 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 athe book of Jashar.

19 “1Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places!

aHow have the mighty fallen!

20 “aTell it not in Gath,

Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,

Or bthe daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,

The daughters of cthe uncircumcised will exult.

21 “aO mountains of Gilboa,

bLet 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 canointed with oil.

22 “aFrom the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,

bThe 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;

aThey were swifter than eagles,

bThey 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 “aHow 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.

aYour love to me was more wonderful

Than the love of women.

27 “aHow have the mighty fallen,

And bthe weapons of war perished!”