David Learns of Saul's Death
(1 Samuel 31:1-6; 1 Chronicles 10:1-6)
1Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; 2It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. 3And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. 4And 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. 5And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? 6And 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. 7And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. 8And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9He 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. 10So 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.
11Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: 12And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, 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. 13And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. 14And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed? 15And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. 16And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD'S anointed.
David's Song for Saul and Jonathan
17And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 18(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
19The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
20Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
21Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.
23Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
24Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
25How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
26I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
27How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Saul’s Death Reported to David
(1 Samuel 31:1–6; 1 Chronicles 10:1–6)
1 It happened after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag; 2 it 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. 3 David said to him, “Where do you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.” 4 David 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.” 5 David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?” 6 The 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. 7 When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He 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.’ 10 So 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.”
11 Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and likewise all the men who were with him. 12 They mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 13 David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” He answered, “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.” 14 David said to him, “How were you not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy Yahweh’s anointed?” 15 David called one of the young men, and said, “Go near, and fall on him.” He struck him, so that he died. 16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your head; for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have slain Yahweh’s anointed.’”
David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan
17 David 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!
20 Don’t tell it in Gath. Don’t publish it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
21 You 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.
22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan’s bow didn’t turn back. Saul’s sword didn’t return empty.
23 Saul 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.
24 You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet delicately, who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.
25 How are 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. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”
Saul’s Death Reported to David
(1 Samuel 31:1–6; 1 Chronicles 10:1–6)
1 After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked.
“I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.
4 “What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.”
“The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”
5 Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out and I answered, ‘Here I am!’
8 ‘Who are you?’ he asked.
So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
9 Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
10 So I stood over 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 that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same. 12 They mourned and wept and 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 And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.”
14 So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15 Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’ ”
David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan
17 Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. a It is written in the Book of Jashar: b
19 “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights.
How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath;
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
21 O mountains of Gilboa,
may you have no dew or rain,
no fields yielding offerings of grain. c
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not retreat,
and the sword of Saul did not return empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life,
were not divided in death.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24 O daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and luxury,
who decked your garments with ornaments of gold.
25 How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother.
You were delightful to me;
your love to me was extraordinary,
surpassing the love of women.
27 How the mighty have fallen
and the weapons of war have perished!”
Footnotes:
18 a Or be taught the use of the bow ; literally be taught the bow
18 b Or the Book of the Upright One , commonly cited as Jasher ; note that the Song of the Bow that follows is not found in known manuscripts attributed to Jasher.
21 c Or no showers falling on your terraced fields ; LXX no fields of firstfruits ; Hebrew no fields of offerings
David Learns of Saul's Death
(1 Samuel 31:1-6; 1 Chronicles 10:1-6)
1And it cometh to pass, after the death of Saul, that David hath returned from smiting the Amalekite, and David dwelleth in Ziklag two days, 2and it cometh to pass, on the third day, that lo, a man hath come in out of the camp from Saul, and his garments are rent, and earth on his head; and it cometh to pass, in his coming in unto David, that he falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance. 3And David saith to him, 'Whence comest thou?' and he saith unto him, 'Out of the camp of Israel I have escaped.' 4And David saith unto him, 'What hath been the matter? declare, I pray thee, to me.' And he saith, that 'The people hath fled from the battle, and also a multitude hath fallen of the people, and they die; and also Saul and Jonathan his son have died.' 5And David saith unto the youth who is declaring it to him, 'How hast thou known that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?' 6And the youth who is declaring it to him saith, I happened to meet in mount Gilboa, and lo, Saul is leaning on his spear; and lo, the chariots and those possessing horses have followed him; 7and he turneth behind him, and seeth me, and calleth unto me, and I say, Here am I. 8And he saith to me, Who art thou? and I say unto him, An Amalekite I am.' 9And he saith unto me, Stand, I pray thee, over me, and put me to death, for seized me hath the arrow, for all my soul is still in me. 10And I stand over him, and put him to death, for I knew that he doth not live after his falling, and I take the crown which is on his head, and the bracelet which is on his arm, and bring them in unto my lord hither.'
11And David taketh hold on his garments, and rendeth them, and also all the men who are with him, 12and they mourn, and weep, and fast till the evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel, because they have fallen by the sword. 13And David saith unto the youth who is declaring it to him, 'Whence art thou?' and he saith, 'Son of a sojourner, an Amalekite, I am.' 14And David saith unto him, 'How wast thou not afraid to put forth thy hand to destroy the anointed of Jehovah?' 15And David calleth to one of the youths, and saith, 'Draw nigh -- fall upon him;' and he smiteth him, and he dieth; 16and David saith unto him, 'Thy blood is on thine own head, for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I -- I put to death the anointed of Jehovah.'
David's Song for Saul and Jonathan
17And David lamenteth with this lamentation over Saul, and over Jonathan his son; 18and he saith to teach the sons of Judah 'The Bow;' lo, it is written on the book of the Upright: --
19The Roebuck, O Israel, On thy high places is wounded; How have the mighty fallen!
20Declare it not in Gath, Proclaim not the tidings in the streets of Ashkelon, Lest they rejoice -- The daughters of the Philistines, Lest they exult -- The daughters of the Uncircumcised!
21Mountains of Gilboa! No dew nor rain be on you, And fields of heave-offerings! For there hath become loathsome The shield of the mighty, The shield of Saul -- without the anointed with oil.
22From the blood of the wounded, From the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan Hath not turned backward; And the sword of Saul doth not return empty.
23Saul and Jonathan! They are loved and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they have not been parted. Than eagles they have been lighter, Than lions they have been mightier!
24Daughters of Israel! for Saul weep ye, Who is clothing you in scarlet with delights. Who is lifting up ornaments of gold on your clothing.
25How have the mighty fallen In the midst of the battle! Jonathan! on thy high places wounded!
26I am in distress for thee, my brother Jonathan, Very pleasant wast thou to me; Wonderful was thy love to me, Above the love of women!
27How have the mighty fallen, Yea, the weapons of war perish!'
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