David’s Victory over the Amalekites

30 Then it happened, when David and his men came to ^(A)Ziklag on the third day, that ^(B)the Amalekites had carried out an attack on the ^[a]Negev and on ^(C)Ziklag, and had ^[b]overthrown Ziklag and burned it with fire; ² and they took captive the women and all who were in it, from the small to the great, ^[c](D)without killing anyone, and drove them off and went their way. ³ When David and his men came to the city, behold, it was burned with fire, and their wives, their sons, and their daughters had been taken captive. ⁴ Then David and the people who were with him ^(E)raised their voices and wept until there was no strength in them to weep. ⁵ Now ^(F)David’s two wives had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the ^[d]widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ⁶ Also, David was in great distress because ^(G)the people spoke of stoning him, for all the people were ^[e]embittered, each one because of his sons and his daughters. But ^(H)David felt strengthened in the Lord his God.

⁷ Then ^(I)David said to ^(J)Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, “Please bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David. ⁸ And ^(K)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “^(L)Shall I pursue this band of raiders? Will I overtake them?” And He said to him, “Pursue, for you will certainly overtake them, ^(M)and you will certainly rescue everyone.” ⁹ So David left, ^(N)he and the six hundred men who were with him, and they came to the brook Besor, where some who were left behind stayed. ¹⁰ But David pursued, he and four hundred men, for ^(O)two hundred who were too exhausted to cross the brook Besor stayed behind.

¹¹ Now they found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and they provided him water to drink. ¹² They also gave him a slice of fig cake and two cakes of raisins, and he ate; ^(P)then his spirit ^[f]revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights. ¹³ Then David said to him, “To whom do you belong? And where are you from?” And he said, “I am a young man of Egypt, a servant of an Amalekite; and my master abandoned me when I became sick three days ago. ¹⁴ We carried out an attack on ^(Q)the ^[g]Negev of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on ^(R)the ^[h]Negev of Caleb, and ^(S)we burned Ziklag with fire.” ¹⁵ Then David said to him, “Will you bring me down to this band of raiders?” And he said, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will bring you down to this band.”

¹⁶ Now when he had brought him down, behold, they were dispersed over all the land, ^(T)eating and drinking and celebrating because of ^(U)all the great plunder that they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah. ¹⁷ And David ^[i]slaughtered them ^(V)from the twilight ^[j]until the evening of ^[k]the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on ^(W)camels and fled. ¹⁸ So David ^(X)recovered all that the Amalekites had taken, and ^[l]rescued his two wives. ¹⁹ And nothing of theirs was missing, whether small or great, sons or daughters, plunder, or anything that they had taken for themselves; ^(Y)David brought it all back. ²⁰ So David had ^[m]captured all the sheep and the cattle which the people drove ahead of ^[n]the other livestock, and they said, “^(Z)This is David’s plunder.”

The Plunder Is Divided

²¹ When ^(AA)David came to the two hundred men who were too exhausted to follow David and ^[o]had been left behind at the brook Besor, and they went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him, then David approached the people and greeted them. ²² Then all the wicked and ^[p]worthless men among those who went with David said, “Since they did not go with ^[q]us, we will not give them any of the spoils that we have recovered, except to every man his wife and his children, so that they may lead them away and leave.” ²³ But David said, “You must not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us, for He has protected us and handed over to us the band of raiders that came against us. ²⁴ And who will listen to you in this matter? For ^(AB)as is the share of the one who goes down into the battle, so shall be the share of the one who stays by the baggage; they shall share alike.” ²⁵ So it has been from that day forward, that he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day.

²⁶ Now when David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah, to his friends, saying, “Behold, ^(AC)a ^[r]gift for you from the spoils of ^(AD)the enemies of the Lord: ²⁷ to those who were in ^(AE)Bethel, to those who were in ^(AF)Ramoth of the ^[s]Negev, to those who were in ^(AG)Jattir, ²⁸ to those who were in ^(AH)Aroer, to those who were in Siphmoth, to those who were in ^(AI)Eshtemoa, ²⁹ to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of ^(AJ)the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of ^(AK)the Kenites, ³⁰ to those who were in ^(AL)Hormah, to those who were in ^(AM)Bor-ashan, to those who were in Athach, ³¹ to those who were in ^(AN)Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his men ^(AO)walked.”

²⁰ As he was going to Ziklag, men from Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, ^[a]captains of thousands who belonged to Manasseh. ²¹ They helped David against ^(A)the band of raiders, for they were all valiant mighty men, and were captains in the army. ²² For day by day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army ^(B)like the army of God.

Saul and His Sons Killed in Battle

31 ^(A)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded ^(B)on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ^[a]killed ^(C)Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3 (D)The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. ^4 (E)Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise ^(F)these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. ^(G)So Saul took ^[b]his sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. ⁶ So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.

⁷ Now when the people of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and settled in them.

⁸ It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them ^[c]throughout the land of the Philistines, ^(H)to bring the good news ^(I)to the house of their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his weapons in the ^[d]temple of ^(J)Ashtaroth, and ^(K)they nailed his body to the wall of ^(L)Beth-shan. ¹¹ Now when ^(M)the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard ^[e]what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (N)all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and ^(O)burned them there. ¹³ And they took their bones and ^(P)buried them under ^(Q)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and ^(R)fasted for seven days.

Defeat and Death of Saul and His Sons

10 ^(A)Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines ^[a]killed Jonathan, ^[b](B)Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle became severe against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was wounded by the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. ^(C)So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died. ^6 (D)So Saul died with his three sons, and all those of his house died together.

⁷ When all the people of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.

⁸ It came about the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ^9 (E)So they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent messengers around the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of their gods and ^[c]impaled his head in the house of Dagon.

Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul

¹¹ When all Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (F)all the valiant men got up and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh; and they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.

^13 (G)So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also ^(H)because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of her, ¹⁴ and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and ^(I)turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse.

⁴⁰ The son of Jonathan was ^[a]Merib-baal; and Merib-baal fathered Micah. ⁴¹ The sons of Micah were Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, ^(A)and Ahaz. ⁴² Ahaz fathered Jarah, Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri; and Zimri fathered Moza. ⁴³ Moza fathered Binea, and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. ⁴⁴ Azel had six sons whose names were these: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. These were the sons of Azel.

⁴ Now ^(A)Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was disabled in both feet. He was five years old when the ^(B)news of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse picked him up and fled. But it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and could no longer walk. And his name was ^[a](C)Mephibosheth.

David Learns of Saul’s Death

1 Now it came about after ^(A)the death of Saul, when David had returned from ^(B)the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David stayed two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(C)a man came from ^[a]Saul’s camp ^(D)with his clothes torn and ^[b]dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, ^(E)he 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, “^(F)How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” ⁵ Then 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 ^(G)Mount Gilboa, and behold, ^(H)Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen had overtaken him. ⁷ When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I ^[c]answered him, ‘^(I)I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for ^[d]agony has seized me because my ^[e]life still lingers in me.’ ¹⁰ So I stood next to him ^(J)and finished him off, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And ^(K)I took the crown which was on his head and the band which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then ^(L)David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept and ^(M)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 Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” And he ^[f]answered, “^(N)I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ And David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid ^(O)to reach out with your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come forward, ^[g]put him to death.” ^(P)So he struck him and he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, “^[h](Q)Your blood is on your head, because ^(R)your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have finished off the Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Song of Mourning for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ Then David ^(S)sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in ^(T)the Book of Jashar.