The Death of Saul

31 ^(A)Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain ^(B)on Mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down ^(C)Jonathan and ^(D)Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. ^3 (E)The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. ^4 (F)Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these ^(G)uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, ^(H)for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword ^(I)and fell upon it. ⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. ⁶ Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. ⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel 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 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, ^(J)to carry the good news ^(K)to the house of their idols and to the people. ^10 (L)They put his armor in the temple of ^(M)Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of ^(N)Beth-shan. ^11 (O)But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ^12 (P)all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh ^(Q)and burned them there. ¹³ And they took their bones ^(R)and buried them under ^(S)the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and ^(T)fasted seven days.

David Hears of Saul's Death

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned ^(U)from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(V)a man came from Saul's camp, ^(W)with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^(X)he fell to the ground and paid homage. ³ David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ And David said to him, ^(Y)“How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people 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 And the young man who told him said, ^(Z)“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. ⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ^(AA)‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ ¹⁰ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. ^(AB)And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and ^(AC)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept ^(AD)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 had fallen by the sword. ¹³ And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ David said to him, “How is it you were not ^(AE)afraid to put out your hand to destroy ^(AF)the Lord's anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(AG)David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, ^(AH)“Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed ^(AI)the Lord's anointed.’”

David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ And David ^(AJ)lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, ¹⁸ and he said it^[a] should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in ^(AK)the Book of Jashar.^[b] He said:

David Anointed King of Judah

2 After this David ^(AZ)inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To ^(BA)Hebron.” ² So David went up there, and ^(BB)his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. ³ And David brought up ^(BC)his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David ^(BD)king over the house of Judah.

When they told David, ^(BE)“It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” ⁵ David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, ^(BF)“May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. ⁶ Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and ^(BG)the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”