2 Samuel 1

New International Version

David Hears of Saul’s Death^(A)

1 After the death^(B) of Saul, David returned from striking down^(C) the Amalekites^(D) and stayed in Ziklag two days. ²On the third day a man^(E) arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head.^(F) When he came to David, he fell^(G) to the ground to pay him honor.^(H)

³“Where have you come from?” David asked him.

He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”

⁴“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.”

⁵Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,^(I)” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. ⁷When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’

⁸“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“‘An Amalekite,^(J)’ I answered.

⁹“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me!^(K) I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’

¹⁰“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^(L) that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore^(M) them. ¹²They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”

“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,^(N)” he answered.

¹⁴David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?^(O)”

¹⁵Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!”^(P) So he struck him down, and he died.^(Q) ¹⁶For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head.^(R) Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷David took up this lament^(S) concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,^(T) ¹⁸and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):^(U)

¹⁹“A gazelle^[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
How the mighty^(V) have fallen!^(W)

²⁰“Tell it not in Gath,^(X)
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,^(Y)
lest the daughters of the Philistines^(Z) be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.^(AA)

²¹“Mountains of Gilboa,^(AB)
    may you have neither dew^(AC) nor rain,^(AD)
    may no showers fall on your terraced fields.^[b]^(AE)
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
    the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.^(AF)

²²“From the blood^(AG) of the slain,
    from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow^(AH) of Jonathan did not turn back,
    the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
²³Saul and Jonathan—
    in life they were loved and admired,
    and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,^(AI)
    they were stronger than lions.^(AJ)

²⁴“Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.^(AK)

²⁵“How the mighty have fallen in battle!
    Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
²⁶I grieve^(AL) for you, Jonathan^(AM) my brother;^(AN)
    you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,^(AO)
    more wonderful than that of women.

²⁷“How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”^(AP)

Footnotes

2 Samuel 1:19 Gazelle here symbolizes a human dignitary.
2 Samuel 1:21 Or / nor fields that yield grain for offerings

Psalm 140

New International Version

Psalm 140^[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹Rescue me,^(A) Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from the violent,^(B)
²who devise evil plans^(C) in their hearts
    and stir up war^(D) every day.
³They make their tongues as sharp as^(E) a serpent’s;
    the poison of vipers^(F) is on their lips.^[b]

⁴Keep me safe,^(G) Lord, from the hands of the wicked;^(H)
    protect me from the violent,
    who devise ways to trip my feet.
⁵The arrogant have hidden a snare^(I) for me;
    they have spread out the cords of their net^(J)
    and have set traps^(K) for me along my path.

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”^(L)
    Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.^(M)
⁷Sovereign Lord,^(N) my strong deliverer,
    you shield my head in the day of battle.
⁸Do not grant the wicked^(O) their desires, Lord;
    do not let their plans succeed.

⁹Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
    may the mischief of their lips engulf them.^(P)
¹⁰May burning coals fall on them;
    may they be thrown into the fire,^(Q)
    into miry pits, never to rise.
¹¹May slanderers not be established in the land;
    may disaster hunt down the violent.^(R)

¹²I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor^(S)
and upholds the cause^(T) of the needy.^(U)
¹³Surely the righteous will praise your name,^(V)
and the upright will live^(W) in your presence.^(X)

Footnotes

Psalm 140:1 In Hebrew texts 140:1-13 is numbered 140:2-14.
Psalm 140:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 8.