David Mourns Saul and Jonathan

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul—when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites—that David stayed two days in Ziklag. ² On the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. Now when he approached David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

³ Then David asked him, “Where are you coming from?”

“I’ve escaped from the camp of Israel,” he answered.

⁴ “How did things go?” David asked him. “Please, tell me.”

He answered, “The troops fled the battlefield—also many of the troops fell and died. And even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

⁵ David asked the young man informing him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶ The young man informing him answered, “I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, and look, Saul was leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen were closing in on him. ⁷ When he turned around and saw me, he called me. So I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ Then he asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ So he said to me, ‘Stand now over me and kill me! For I’m in agony, yet I’m still alive.’ ¹⁰ So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew he couldn’t survive after he had fallen. Then I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and brought them here—to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men that were with him, ¹² and they mourned, wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, for the troops of Adonai and for 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?”

“I am a son of an Amalekite outsider,” he replied.

¹⁴ Then David said to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Adonai’s anointed one?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come and strike him down.” And he struck him down and he died. ¹⁶ David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your mouth testified against you saying, ‘I killed Adonai’s anointed.’”

¹⁷ Then David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan, ¹⁸ and ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the “Song of the Bow.” (Behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar):

Judah Anoints David King

2 Now it came to pass after this that David inquired of Adonai saying, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?”

Adonai said to him, “Go up.”

“Where shall I go up?” David asked.

“To Hebron,” He said.

² So David went up there, along with his two wives—Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite. ³ David also brought up his men that were with him, each with his household, and they settled in the towns of Hebron. ⁴ Then the men of Judah came and there anointed David king over the house of Judah.

Then they told David saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

⁵ So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “Blessed are you of Adonai for showing this kindness to Saul your lord, by burying him. ⁶ So now may Adonai show you kindness and faithfulness; and I also will show you goodness because you have done this thing. ⁷ Now therefore, be strong and brave, for Saul your lord is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

Forces of Abner and Joab Battle

⁸ Now Abner son of Ner, Saul’s army commander, had taken Saul’s son Ish-bosheth, and brought him over to Mahanaim. ⁹ Then he made him king over Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel. ¹⁰ Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was 40 years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned for two years. But the house of Judah followed David. ¹¹ The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

Fallen Seed Produces a Harvest

²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast. ²¹ These came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in the Galilee. “Sir,” they said, “we want to see Yeshua.” ²² Philip comes and tells Andrew; Andrew and Philip come and tell Yeshua.

²³ Yeshua answers them, saying, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified! ²⁴ Amen, amen I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. ²⁵ He who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it forever. ²⁶ If any man serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there also will My servant be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷ “Now My soul is troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But it was for this reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify Your name!”

Then a voice came out of heaven, “I have glorified it, and again I will glorify it!”

²⁹ Therefore the crowd that was standing there and heard it was saying that it had thundered. Others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

³⁰ Yeshua responded, “This voice hasn’t come for My sake, but for yours. ³¹ Now is the judgment of this world! Now the prince of this world will be driven out! ³² And as I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death He was about to die.

³⁴ The crowd answered Him, “We’ve heard from Scripture^[a] that the Messiah remains forever. How can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

Choose Either the Light or the Darkness

³⁵ Therefore Yeshua said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness will not overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he is going. ³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.” Yeshua spoke these things, then left and hid Himself from them.

³⁷ But even though He had performed so many signs before them, they weren’t trusting in Him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said,

³⁹ For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

⁴² Nevertheless many, even among the leaders, put their trust in Him. But because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing Yeshua,^[d] so they would not be thrown out of the synagogue; ^{[e] 43} for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God.

⁴⁴ Yeshua cried out, “Whoever puts trust in Me believes not in Me but in the One who sent Me! ⁴⁵ And whoever beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me. ⁴⁶ As light I have come into the world, so that everyone who trusts in Me should not remain in darkness.

⁴⁷ “If anyone hears My words but doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I came to save the world, not to judge the world. ⁴⁸ The one who rejects Me and doesn’t receive My words has a judge; the word I spoke will judge him on the last day. ⁴⁹ For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me.”