| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag. | 1After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. |
| 2On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect. | 2On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage. |
| 3“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I escaped from the Israelite camp,” the man replied. | 3“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied. |
| 4“What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.” The man replied, “Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” | 4“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” |
| 5“How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David demanded of the young man. | 5Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” |
| 6The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him. | 6“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him. |
| 7When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ‘How can I help?’ I asked him. | 7When he turned around and saw me, he called out and I answered, ‘Here I am!’ |
| 8“He responded, ‘Who are you?’ “‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him. | 8‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ |
| 9“Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’ | 9Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’ |
| 10“So I killed him,” the Amalekite told David, “for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.” | 10So I stood over 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 that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.” |
| 11David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. | 11Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same. |
| 12They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the LORD’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day. | 12They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. |
| 13Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?” And he replied, “I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land.” | 13And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.” |
| 14“Why were you not afraid to kill the LORD’s anointed one?” David asked. | 14So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” |
| 15Then David said to one of his men, “Kill him!” So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him. | 15Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died. |
| 16“You have condemned yourself,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed the LORD’s anointed one.” David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan | 16For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’ ” |
| 17Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan, | 17Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, |
| 18and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar. | 18and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar: |
| 19Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills! Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! | 19“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen! |
| 20Don’t announce the news in Gath, don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice and the pagans will laugh in triumph. | 20Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. |
| 21O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled; the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil. | 21O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil. |
| 22The bow of Jonathan was powerful, and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. They shed the blood of their enemies and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes. | 22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not retreat, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. |
| 23How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! They were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. | 23Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. |
| 24O women of Israel, weep for Saul, for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing, in garments decorated with gold. | 24O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and luxury, who decked your garments with ornaments of gold. |
| 25Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills. | 25How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. |
| 26How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women! | 26I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. |
| 27Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead. | 27How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war have perished!” |
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