II Samuel 1

¹Now after the death of Saul, when David, having come back from the destruction of the Amalekites, had been in Ziklag for two days;

²On the third day a man came from Saul's tents, with his clothing out of order and earth on his head: and when he came to David, he went down on the earth and gave him honour.

³And David said to him, Where have you come from? And he said, I have come in flight from the tents of Israel.

⁴And David said to him, How did things go? Give me the news. And in answer he said, The people have gone in flight from the fight, and a great number of them are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.

⁵And David said to the young man who gave him the news, Why are you certain that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?

⁶And the young man said, I came by chance to Mount Gilboa, and I saw Saul supporting himself on his spear; and the war-carriages and horsemen overtook him.

⁷And looking back, he saw me and gave a cry to me. And answering him I said, Here am I.

⁸And he said to me, Who are you? And I said, I am an Amalekite.

⁹Then he said to me, Come here to my side, and put me to death, for the pain of death has me in its grip but my life is still strong in me.

¹⁰So I put my foot on him and gave him his death-blow, because I was certain that he would not go on living after his fall: and I took the crown from his head and the band from his arm, and I have them here for my lord.

¹¹Then David gave way to bitter grief, and so did all the men who were with him:

¹²And till evening they gave themselves to sorrow and weeping, and took no food, weeping for Saul and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord and for the men of Israel; because they had come to their end by the sword.

¹³And David said to the young man who had given him the news, Where do you come from? And he said, I am the son of a man from a strange land; I am an Amalekite.

¹⁴And David said to him, Had you no fear of stretching out your hand to put to death the one marked with the holy oil?

¹⁵And David sent for one of his young men and said, Go near and put an end to him. And he put him to death.

¹⁶And David said to him, May your blood be on your head; for your mouth has given witness against you, saying, I have put to death the man marked with the holy oil.

¹⁷Then David made this song of grief for Saul and Jonathan, his son:

¹⁸(It is recorded in the book of Jashar for teaching to the sons of Judah) and he said:

¹⁹The glory, O Israel, is dead on your high places! How have the great ones been made low!

²⁰Give no news of it in Gath, let it not be said in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will be glad, the daughters of men without circumcision will be uplifted in joy.

²¹O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, you fields of death: for there the arms of the strong have been shamed, the arms of Saul, as if he had not been marked with the holy oil.

²²From the blood of the dead, from the fat of the strong, the bow of Jonathan was not turned back, the sword of Saul did not come back unused.

²³Saul and Jonathan were loved and pleasing; in their lives and in their death they were not parted; they went more quickly than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

²⁴O daughters of Israel, have sorrow for Saul, by whom you were delicately clothed in robes of red, with ornaments of gold on your dresses.

²⁵How have the great ones been made low in the fight! Jonathan is dead on your high places.

²⁶I am full of grief for you, my brother Jonathan: very dear have you been to me: your love for me was a wonder, greater than the love of women.

²⁷How have the great ones been made low, and the arms of war broken!

II Samuel 1

¹It happened after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag;

²it happened on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn, and earth on his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and showed respect.

³David said to him, "Where do you come from?" He said to him, "I have escaped out of the camp of Israel."

⁴David said to him, "How did it go? Please tell me." He answered, "The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."

⁵David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?"

⁶The young man who told him said, "As I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning on his spear; and behold, the chariots and the horsemen followed hard after him.

⁷When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, 'Here I am.'

⁸He said to me, 'Who are you?' I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'

⁹He said to me, 'Please stand beside me, and kill me; for anguish has taken hold of me, because my life is yet whole in me.'

¹⁰So I stood beside him, and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord."

¹¹Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and likewise all the men who were with him.

¹²They mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

¹³David said to the young man who told him, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite."

¹⁴David said to him, "How were you not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?"

¹⁵David called one of the young men, and said, "Go near, and fall on him." He struck him, so that he died.

¹⁶David said to him, "Your blood be on your head; for your mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have slain the Lord's anointed.'"

¹⁷David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son

¹⁸(and he commanded them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jashar):

¹⁹"Your glory, Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰Do not tell it in Gath. Do not publish it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

²¹You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain on you, neither fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.

²²From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan's bow did not turn back. Saul's sword did not return empty.

²³Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.

²⁴You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet delicately, who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.

²⁵How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places.

²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

²⁷How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"