Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
133 (Shir HaMa’alot, of Dovid). Hinei, mah tov umah na’im shevet achim gahm yachad (how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity)!
2 It is like the precious shemen upon the rosh, that ran down upon the beard, even Aharon’s beard; that went down to the collar of his robes;
3 As the tal of Chermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Tziyon; for there Hashem commanded the brocha, even Chayyim Ad Olam.
4 And Dovid said unto him, How went the matter? Tell me now. And he answered, That the people are fled from the milchamah, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Sha’ul and Yonatan bno are dead also.
5 And Dovid said unto the na’ar that told him, How knowest thou that Sha’ul and Yonatan bno are dead?
6 And the na’ar that told him said, As I happened to be upon Mt Gilboa, hinei, Sha’ul leaned upon his khanit; and, hinei, the chariots and ba’alei haparashim followed hard after him.
7 And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Hineini.
8 And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amaleki.
9 He said unto me again, Stand, now, over me, and slay me; for shavatz (death through agony) is come upon me, because my nefesh is yet still in me.
10 So I stood over him, and slaughtered him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen; and I took the nezer (crown, diadem) that was upon his rosh, and the etzadah (bracelet, band) that was on his zero’a, and have brought them here unto adoni.
11 Then Dovid took hold on his clothes, and made the kri’ah on them; and likewise all the anashim that were with him;
12 And they mourned, and wept, and did a tzom until the erev, for Sha’ul, and for Yonatan bno, and for the Am Hashem, and for Bais Yisroel; because they were fallen by the cherev.
13 And Dovid said unto the na’ar that told him, From where art thou? And he answered, I am ben ish ger, an Amaleki.
14 And Dovid said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine yad to destroy Hashem’s moshiach?
15 And Dovid called one of the ne’arim, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he struck him so that he died.
16 And Dovid said unto him, Thy dahm be upon thy rosh; for thine own peh hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain Hashem’s moshiach.
17 And Dovid lamented with this kinah (lamentation) over Sha’ul and over Yonatan bno;
18 Also he bade them teach the Bnei Yehudah: The Keshet. Hinei, it is written in the Sefer HaYasher:
19 The glory of Yisroel is slain upon thy high places; how are the Gibborim fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gat, proclaim it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the banot Pelishtim rejoice, lest the banot ha’arelim triumph.
21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no tal, neither let there be matar, upon you, nor fields of terumot; for there the mogen Gibborim is defiled, the mogen of Sha’ul, as though he had not been mashiach (anointed) with shemen.
22 From the dahm of the slain, from the chelev of the Gibborim, the keshet Yonatan turned not back, and the cherev Sha’ul returned not empty.
23 Sha’ul and Yonatan were beloved and gracious in their lives, and in their mot they were not parted; they were swifter than nesharim, they were stronger than arayot.
24 Ye banot Yisroel, weep over Sha’ul, who clothed you in scarlet, with fineries, who put on ornaments of zahav upon your apparel.
25 How are the Gibborim fallen in the midst of the milchamah! O Yonatan, thou wast slain on thine heights.
26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Yonatan; very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy ahavah was wonderful to me, passing ahavat nashim.
27 How are the Gibborim fallen, and the k’lei milchamah (weapons of war) perished!
27 Now in these yamim, nevi’im came down from Yerushalayim to Antioch.
28 One of them, by name of Agav, having got up, indicated through the Ruach Hakodesh a great famine was about to come all over the world. And this famine actually occurred during the time of Claudius.
29 Now the talmidim decided that according to their means, each of them would send support to the Achim b’Moshiach dwelling in Yehudah;
30 Which also they did, having sent to the Ziknei HaKehillot by the hand of Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International