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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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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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“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
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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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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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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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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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“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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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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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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He chased Abner, turning neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him.
