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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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“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit.
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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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They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
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and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
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“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!
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“Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
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“Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, may no showers fall on your terraced fields. For there the shield of the mighty was despised, the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
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“From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
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Saul and Jonathan— in life they were loved and admired, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
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“Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
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So David went up there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail, the widow of Nabal of Carmel.
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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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May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this.
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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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Ish-Bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he became king over Israel, and he reigned two years. The tribe of Judah, however, remained loyal to David.
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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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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.
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The three sons of Zeruiah were there: Joab, Abishai and Asahel. Now Asahel was as fleet-footed as a wild gazelle.
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He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him.
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Abner looked behind him and asked, “Is that you, Asahel?” “It is,” he answered.
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Then Abner said to him, “Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
