^1:4David inquired, “How were things going?⁷ Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them⁸ fell dead.⁹ Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!” ^1:5David said to the young man¹⁰ who was telling him this, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”¹¹^1:6The young man who was telling him this¹² said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him. ^1:7When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me. I answered, ‘Here I am!’ ^1:8He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him, ‘I’m¹³ an Amalekite.’ ^1:9He said to me, ‘Stand over me and finish me off!¹⁴ I’m very dizzy,¹⁵ even though I’m still alive.’¹⁶^1:10So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition.¹⁷ Then I took the crown which was on his head and the¹⁸ bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.”¹⁹

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Footnotes

7 Heb “What was the word?”
8 Heb “from the people.”
9 Heb “fell and died.”
10 In v. 2 he is called simply a “man.” The word used here in v. 5 (so also in vv. 6, 13, 15), though usually referring to a young man or servant, may in this context designate a “fighting” man, i.e., a soldier.
11 Instead of the “who was recounting this to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’ ” the reads “declare to me how Saul and his son Jonathan died.”
12 The and one of the lack the words “who was telling him this” of the .
13 The present translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew “and I said,” rather than the Kethib which has “and he said.” See the , , and , all of which have the first person.
14 As P. K. McCarter (II Samuel [], ) points out, the Polel of the verb מוּת (mut, “to die”) “refers to dispatching or ‘finishing off’ someone already wounded and near death.” Cf. “put me out of my misery.”
15 Heb “the dizziness has seized me.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun translated “dizziness,” see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (), . The point seems to be that he is unable to kill himself because he is weak and disoriented.
16 The Hebrew text here is grammatically very awkward (Heb “because all still my life in me”). Whether the broken construct phrase is due to the fact that the alleged speaker is in a confused state of mind as he is on the verge of dying, or whether the has sustained corruption in the transmission process, is not entirely clear. The former seems likely, although P. K. McCarter understands the to be the result of conflation of two shorter forms of text (P. K. McCarter, II Samuel [], , n. 9). Early translators also struggled with the verse, apparently choosing to leave part of the Hebrew text untranslated. For example, the Lucianic recension of the lacks “all,” while other witnesses (namely, one medieval Hebrew , codices A and B of the , and the ) lack “still.”
17 Heb “after his falling”; “could not survive his wound”; “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”
18 The lacks the definite article, but this is likely due to textual corruption. It is preferable to read the alef (א) of אֶצְעָדָה (’ets’adah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hatsé’adah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. “one of his bracelets”).
19 The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3–5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the . However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”

“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’

“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“ ‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.

“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’

“So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“What was the outcome? Tell me,” David asked him.

“The troops fled from the battle,” he answered. “Many of the troops have fallen and are dead. Also, Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. At that very moment the chariots and the cavalry were closing in on him. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, so I answered: I’m at your service. He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him: I’m an Amalekite. Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for I’m mortally wounded, but my life still lingers.’ So I stood over him and killed him because I knew that after he had fallen he couldn’t survive. I took the crown that was on his head and the armband that was on his arm, and I’ve brought them here to my lord.”

NLTNew Living Translation

“What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.”

The man replied, “Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

“How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David demanded of the young man.

The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him. When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ‘How can I help?’ I asked him.

“He responded, ‘Who are you?’

“ ‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him.

“Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’

“So I killed him,” the Amalekite told David, “for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” He answered, “When the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died.” Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?” The young man who was reporting to him said, “I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul was leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen were getting close to him. When he turned around and saw me, he called to me, and I said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I said to him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ He said to me, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for convulsions have seized me, even though my life is still in me.’ So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord.

KJV 1900King James Version

And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.

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