Saul and Jonathan Are Dead

1Now it happened after the death of Saul, that David returned from striking down the Amalekites. Then David remained two days in Ziklag. 2Now it happened that on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul. And his clothes were torn and [†]dust was on his head. And it happened when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. 3Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4And David said to him, “How did things go? Tell me now.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” 5So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. 7Then he turned to look behind him, and he saw me and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 8And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I [†]answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and put me to death, for agony has seized me because my [†]life still lingers in me.’ 10So I stood beside him and put him to death, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

11Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. 12And they lamented and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of [†]Yahweh and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13And David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he [†]answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” 14Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to send forth your hand to destroy the anointed of Yahweh?” 15And David called one of the young men and said, “Approach and fall upon him.” So he struck him and he died. 16And David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has answered against you, saying, ‘I have put the anointed of Yahweh to death.’”

David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan

17Then David chanted with this funeral lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, 18and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.

19“[†]Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places!

How have the mighty fallen!

20Tell 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 exult.

21O mountains of Gilboa,

Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings;

For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,

The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,

The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,

And the sword of Saul did not return empty.

23Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life,

And in their death they were not separated;

They were swifter than eagles,

They were mightier than lions.

24O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,

Who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.

25How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan is slain on your high places.

26I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;

You have been very pleasant to me.

Your love to me was more wonderful

Than the love of women.

27How have the mighty fallen,

And the weapons of war perished!”