2 Samuel 1 - New International Version (NIV)

David Hears of Saul’s Death(A)

1 After the death(B) of Saul, David returned from striking down(C) the Amalekites(D) and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man(E) arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head.(F) When he came to David, he fell(G) to the ground to pay him honor.(H)

3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.

He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”

4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”

“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,(I)” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’

8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’

“‘An Amalekite,(J)’ I answered.

9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me!(K) I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’

10 “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(L) that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore(M) them. 12 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.

13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”

“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,(N)” he answered.

14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?(O)”

15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!”(P) So he struck him down, and he died.(Q) 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head.(R) Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

David’s Lament for Saul and Jonathan

17 David took up this lament(S) concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,(T) 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):(U)

19 “A gazelle[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
How the mighty(V) have fallen!(W)

20 “Tell it not in Gath,(X)
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,(Y)
lest the daughters of the Philistines(Z) be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.(AA)

21 “Mountains of Gilboa,(AB)
may you have neither dew(AC) nor rain,(AD)
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.[b](AE)
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.(AF)

22 “From the blood(AG) of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow(AH) of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,(AI)
they were stronger than lions.(AJ)

24 “Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.(AK)

25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve(AL) for you, Jonathan(AM) my brother;(AN)
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,(AO)
more wonderful than that of women.

27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”(AP)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 1:19 Gazelle here symbolizes a human dignitary.
  2. 2 Samuel 1:21 Or / nor fields that yield grain for offerings

Cross references

  1. 2 Samuel 1:1 : 1:4-12pp — 1Sa 31:1-13; 1Ch 10:1-12
  2. 2 Samuel 1:1 : S 1Sa 26:10; 1Ch 10:13
  3. 2 Samuel 1:1 : S Jos 22:8; S 1Sa 30:17
  4. 2 Samuel 1:1 : S Ge 14:7; Nu 13:29
  5. 2 Samuel 1:2 : 2Sa 4:10
  6. 2 Samuel 1:2 : S 1Sa 4:12; Job 2:12; Eze 27:30
  7. 2 Samuel 1:2 : S 1Sa 20:41
  8. 2 Samuel 1:2 : S Ge 37:7
  9. 2 Samuel 1:6 : ver 21; S 1Sa 28:4
  10. 2 Samuel 1:8 : ver 13; S 1Sa 15:2; S 27:8; 30:13, 17
  11. 2 Samuel 1:9 : S Jdg 9:54
  12. 2 Samuel 1:10 : 2Ki 11:12
  13. 2 Samuel 1:11 : S Ge 37:29; S Nu 14:6
  14. 2 Samuel 1:13 : S ver 8; S 1Sa 14:48
  15. 2 Samuel 1:14 : S 1Sa 12:3; S 26:9
  16. 2 Samuel 1:15 : 2Sa 4:12
  17. 2 Samuel 1:15 : 2Sa 4:10
  18. 2 Samuel 1:16 : S Lev 20:9; Mt 27:24-25; Ac 18:6
  19. 2 Samuel 1:17 : S Ge 50:10; S Eze 32:2
  20. 2 Samuel 1:17 : ver 26
  21. 2 Samuel 1:18 : Jos 10:13
  22. 2 Samuel 1:19 : 2Sa 23:8; Ps 29:1; 45:3
  23. 2 Samuel 1:19 : 2Sa 3:38
  24. 2 Samuel 1:20 : Mic 1:10
  25. 2 Samuel 1:20 : S Jos 13:3
  26. 2 Samuel 1:20 : 1Sa 31:8
  27. 2 Samuel 1:20 : S 1Sa 18:6
  28. 2 Samuel 1:21 : S ver 6
  29. 2 Samuel 1:21 : S Ge 27:28; S Isa 18:4
  30. 2 Samuel 1:21 : Dt 11:17; 1Ki 8:35; 17:1; 18:1; 2Ch 6:26; Job 36:27; 38:28; Ps 65:10; 147:8; Isa 5:6; Jer 5:24; 14:4; Am 1:2
  31. 2 Samuel 1:21 : Jer 12:4; Eze 31:15
  32. 2 Samuel 1:21 : Isa 21:5
  33. 2 Samuel 1:22 : Isa 34:3, 7; 49:26
  34. 2 Samuel 1:22 : Dt 32:42
  35. 2 Samuel 1:23 : S Dt 28:49
  36. 2 Samuel 1:23 : Jdg 14:18
  37. 2 Samuel 1:24 : S Jdg 5:30
  38. 2 Samuel 1:26 : Jer 22:18; 34:5
  39. 2 Samuel 1:26 : ver 17
  40. 2 Samuel 1:26 : S 1Sa 20:42
  41. 2 Samuel 1:26 : S 1Sa 18:1
  42. 2 Samuel 1:27 : S 1Sa 2:4

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