2 Samuel - Chapter 1

David learns of Saul’s death

^{1 ①} It was thus that Saul died. As for David, he returned after defeating the Amalekites. He was already two days in Ziklag ²when, on the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dust strewn on his head. He went to David and fell to the ground in homage. ³David asked him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.” ⁴David then said, “Tell me what happened.” And the man told him, “The soldiers fled from the battle but many of them fell and died. Saul and his son Jonathan – they too are dead.”

⁵Then David asked the young man who reported this, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶The young man replied, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa and I saw Saul leaning on his spear while chariots and horsemen were closing in on him. ⁷He turned around and, seeing me, called me. ⁸I said, ‘Here I am.’ He asked, ‘Who are you?’ and I replied, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹He then said to me, ‘Come here and kill me for I feel dizzy though I am fully alive.’ ¹⁰So I went over and killed him, for I knew that he would fall and not rise again. Then I removed the crown from his head and the armlet from his arm, both of which I have here to give you, my lord.”

¹¹At this, David took hold of his clothes and tore them and his men did the same. ¹²And they mourned, weeping and fasting until evening, for the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, for all the people of Judah and for the nation of Israel.

¹³David asked the young man who told him this, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an Amalekite immigrant.” ¹⁴David said, “Why were you not afraid to lay your hands on Yahweh’s anointed and kill him?” ¹⁵He then called one of his men and ordered him, “Come and strike him down.” He struck down the Amalekite and killed him.

¹⁶David declared, “You will answer for your own blood for you condemned yourself when you said, ‘I have killed Yahweh’s anointed’.”

¹⁷David sang this song of lamentation for Saul and his son Jonathan, and had it taught to the people of Judah. It is called “The Bow” ¹⁸and is found in the Book of the Just.

¹⁹“Your glory, O Israel, is slain upon your mountains!
How the mighty ones have fallen!

²⁰Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon
lest the Philistine women rejoice,
lest foreign maidens exult.

²¹Mountains of Gilboa,
let neither dew nor rain visit you,
no more fertile fields on you!
For on you the shield of the valiant was defiled.

²²The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil;
but with the blood of the slain.
From the fat of the warriors,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, nor did the sword of Saul return unstained.

²³Saul and Jonathan, beloved and cherished,
neither in life nor in death were they parted;
swifter than eagles they were
and stronger than lions.

²⁴Women of Israel, weep over Saul
who clothed you in precious scarlet.

²⁵How the valiant have fallen!
In the midst of the battle Jonathan lies slain on your mountains.

²⁶I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan;
how dear have you been to me!
Your love for me was wonderful,
even more than the love of women. ²⁷How the valiant have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”