2 Samuel 1:1-16 ▼

1 It happened after the death of Saul, that David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and he stayed two days in Ziklag.

2 It happened on the third day, that, look, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and paid homage.

3 David said to him, |Where do you come from?| He said to him, |I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.|

4 David said to him, |How did it go? Please tell me.| He answered, |The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.|

5 David said to the young man who had told him this, |How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?|

6 Then the young man replied, |I happened to be on Mount Gilboa and saw Saul leaning on his spear. And look, the chariots and the horsemen were closing in on him.

7 When he turned around he saw me, and called to me. I answered, 'Here I am.'

8 He said to me, 'Who are you?' I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'

9 He said to me, 'Please stand beside me, and kill me; for anguish has taken hold of me, yet there is life in me still.'

10 So I stood beside him, and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. Then I took the crown that was on his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.|

11 Then David grabbed his clothes and tore them, and all the men with him did the same.

12 They mourned, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

13 David said to the young man who had told him, |Where are you from?| He answered, |I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.|

14 David said to him, |How is it that you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?|

15 David called one of the young men, and said, |Go near, and fall on him.| He struck him, so that he died.

16 David said to him, |Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the LORD's anointed.'|