2 Samuel 1
Legacy Standard Bible
Saul and Jonathan Are Dead
1 Now it happened after (A)the death of Saul, that David returned from (B)striking down the Amalekites. Then David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 Now it happened that on the third day, behold, (C)a man came out of the camp from Saul. And (D)his clothes were torn and [a]dust was on his head. And it happened when he came to David, that (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 And David said to him, “(F)How did things go? Tell me now.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” 5 So 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, “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 pursued him closely. 7 Then he turned to look behind him, and he saw me and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I [b]answered him, ‘(I)I am an Amalekite.’ 9 Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and put me to death, for agony has seized me because my [c]life still lingers in me.’ 10 So I stood beside him (J)and put him to death, 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 bracelet 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 lamented and wept and (M)fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of [d]Yahweh and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 And David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he [e]answered, “(N)I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” 14 Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid (O)to send forth your hand to destroy the anointed of Yahweh?” 15 And David called one of the young men and said, “Approach and fall upon him.” (P)So he struck him and he died. 16 And David said to him, “(Q)Your blood is on your head, for (R)your mouth has answered against you, saying, ‘I have put the anointed of Yahweh to death.’”
David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan
17 Then David (S)chanted with this funeral lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in (T)the book of Jashar.
19 “[f]Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
(U)How have the mighty fallen!
20 (V)Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
Lest (W)the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
Lest the daughters of (X)the uncircumcised exult.
21 (Y)O mountains of Gilboa,
(Z)Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings;
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
The shield of Saul, not (AA)anointed with oil.
22 (AB)From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
(AC)The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life,
And in their death they were not separated;
(AD)They were swifter than eagles,
(AE)They were mightier than lions.
24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
Who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.
25 (AF)How have 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.
(AG)Your love to me was more wonderful
Than the love of women.
27 (AH)How have the mighty fallen,
And (AI)the weapons of war perished!”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 1:2 Lit ground
- 2 Samuel 1:8 Lit said to
- 2 Samuel 1:9 Lit whole life is still in me
- 2 Samuel 1:12 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- 2 Samuel 1:13 Lit said
- 2 Samuel 1:19 Lit The
2 Samuel 1
Lexham English Bible
The Report of Saul’s Death by the Amalekite
1 After[a] the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and he stayed at Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day, a man came from the camp from being with Saul, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he came[b] to David, he fell to the ground and bowed down. 3 David said to him, “Where did you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 Then David said to him, “How did things go?[c] Please tell me.” He answered, “When[d] the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died.” 5 Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?” 6 The young man who was reporting to him said, “I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul was leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen were getting close to him. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called to me, and I said, ‘Here I am.’ 8 Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I said to him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for convulsions have seized me, even though my life is still in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after his falling; I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm; and here, I have brought them to my lord. 11 David grabbed at his clothes and tore them, as did all of the men who were with him. 12 Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, as well as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword. 13 Then David said to the young man who was reporting to him, “Where are you from?” And he said, “I am the son of an alien man. I am an Amalekite.” 14 David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh’s anointed one?” 15 Then David called to one of the young men and said to him, “Come near; strike him.” So he struck him down and he died. 16 David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you by saying, ‘I killed Yahweh’s anointed one!’”
David Laments Jonathan with the “Song of the Bow”
17 Then David sang this funeral song over Saul and over Jonathan his son. 18 And he ordered “The Bow” to be taught to the children of Judah. Look, it is written on the scroll of Jashar.[e]
19 “The glory of Israel is on your high places; how the mighty have fallen!
20 Do not tell it in Gath; do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
21 O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you
or on the fields of grain for offerings,
for there the small shield of the mighty was defiled,
the small shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
and the sword of Saul did not return without effect.[f]
23 Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives
and were not separated in their death.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
the one who clothed you with crimson,
the one who adorned your clothing with golden ornaments.[g]
25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle;
Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
26 I am distressed[h] over you, my brother Jonathan.
you were very dear to me;
your love was more wonderful to me than the love of women.
27 How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of warfare perished.”
Footnotes
- 2 Samuel 1:1 Literally “And it happened after”
- 2 Samuel 1:2 Literally “And it happened at his coming”
- 2 Samuel 1:4 Literally “What was the thing”
- 2 Samuel 1:4 Literally “That”
- 2 Samuel 1:18 The Book of Jashar (“the upright”) is also mentioned in Josh 10:13.
- 2 Samuel 1:22 Literally “empty handedly”
- 2 Samuel 1:24 Literally “put gold ornaments on your clothing”
- 2 Samuel 1:26 Literally “Distress is for me”
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