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On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
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“Where have you come from?” David asked him. He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
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“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.”
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Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
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When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
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“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
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“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
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“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 that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
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Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.
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David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
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David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
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Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died.
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For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
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I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.
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David also took the men who were with him, each with his family, and they settled in Hebron and its towns.
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Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul,
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he sent messengers to them to say to them, “The Lord bless you for showing this kindness to Saul your master by burying him.
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Now then, be strong and brave, for Saul your master is dead, and the people of Judah have anointed me king over them.”
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War Between the Houses of David and Saul
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ish-Bosheth son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
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He made him king over Gilead, Ashuri and Jezreel, and also over Ephraim, Benjamin and all Israel.
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Abner son of Ner, together with the men of Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon.
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Joab son of Zeruiah and David’s men went out and met them at the pool of Gibeon. One group sat down on one side of the pool and one group on the other side.
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Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have some of the young men get up and fight hand to hand in front of us.” “All right, let them do it,” Joab said.
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So they stood up and were counted off—twelve men for Benjamin and Ish-Bosheth son of Saul, and twelve for David.
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The battle that day was very fierce, and Abner and the Israelites were defeated by David’s men.
