23 “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
    In life and in death they were not divided;
they were (A)swifter than eagles;
    they were (B)stronger than lions.

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23 Saul and Jonathan—
    in life they were loved and admired,
    and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,(A)
    they were stronger than lions.(B)

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13 Behold, he comes up like clouds;
    (A)his chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are (B)swifter than eagles—
    woe to us, (C)for we are ruined!

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13 Look! He advances like the clouds,(A)
    his chariots(B) come like a whirlwind,(C)
his horses(D) are swifter than eagles.(E)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!(F)

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18 And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,

“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”

And he said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.”

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18 Before sunset on the seventh day the men of the town said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?
    What is stronger than a lion?”(A)

Samson said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer,
    you would not have solved my riddle.”

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19 Our pursuers were (A)swifter
    than the eagles in the heavens;
they chased us on the mountains;
    they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.

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19 Our pursuers were swifter
    than eagles(A) in the sky;
they chased us(B) over the mountains
    and lay in wait for us in the desert.(C)

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30 the lion, which is mightiest among beasts
    and (A)does not turn back before any;

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30 a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;

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26 They go by like (A)skiffs of reed,
    like (B)an eagle swooping on the prey.

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26 They skim past(A) like boats of papyrus,(B)
    like eagles swooping down on their prey.(C)

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David and Jonathan's Friendship

18 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan (A)loved him as his own soul.

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Saul’s Growing Fear of David

18 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan(A) became one in spirit with David, and he loved(B) him as himself.(C)

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49 (A)The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, (B)swooping down like the eagle, a nation (C)whose language you do not understand,

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49 The Lord will bring a nation against you(A) from far away, from the ends of the earth,(B) like an eagle(C) swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand,(D)

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From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were (A)swift as gazelles upon the mountains:

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Some Gadites(A) defected to David at his stronghold in the wilderness. They were brave warriors, ready for battle and able to handle the shield and spear. Their faces were the faces of lions,(B) and they were as swift as gazelles(C) in the mountains.

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20 And (A)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man[a] of (B)Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels[b] of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 23:20 Or the son of Ishhai
  2. 2 Samuel 23:20 The meaning of the word ariel is unknown

20 Benaiah(A) son of Jehoiada, a valiant fighter from Kabzeel,(B) performed great exploits. He struck down Moab’s two mightiest warriors. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

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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. 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. (E)The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. (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. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.

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Saul Takes His Life(A)

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.(B) The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons,(C) and they killed his sons Jonathan,(D) Abinadab and Malki-Shua.(E) The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded(F) him critically.

Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through,(G) or these uncircumcised(H) fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”

But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him.

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And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.”

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“Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”

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18 And the (A)three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Now Asahel was (B)as swift of foot as a wild gazelle.

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18 The three sons of Zeruiah(A) were there: Joab,(B) Abishai(C) and Asahel.(D) Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.(E)

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