“How the Mighty Have Fallen”

¹After Saul's death, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag for two days. ²On the 3rd day, a man arrived from Saul's camp. His clothes were torn and he had dirt on his head. When he reached David, he dropped to the ground and bowed low. ³David asked him, "Where are you coming from?" The man replied, "I escaped from the Israelite camp." ⁴David asked him, "How did it go? Please tell me." He replied, "The people fled from the battle, and many of them have fallen and died. Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead." ⁵David said to the young man, "How do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead?" ⁶The young man said, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. The enemy chariots and horsemen were closing in fast. ⁷He looked back and saw me, then called out to me. I answered, 'Here I am.' ⁸He asked me, 'Who are you?' I told him, 'I'm an Amalekite.' ⁹Then he said to me, 'Come stand over me and kill me, for I am in agony, and my life is still fully in me.' ¹⁰So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew he couldn't survive after he'd collapsed. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm, and I've brought them here to you, my lord." ¹¹David grabbed his own clothes and tore them, and every man with him did the same. ¹²They mourned, wept, and fasted until evening — grieving for Saul, for his son Jonathan, for the LORD's people, and for the nation of Israel, because so many had fallen by the sword. ¹³David asked the young man again, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I'm the son of a foreigner — an Amalekite." ¹⁴David said to him, "How could you not be afraid to raise your hand and kill the LORD's anointed?" ¹⁵David called one of his soldiers and said, "Go, strike him down." The soldier killed him. ¹⁶David said to the dead man, "Your blood is on your own head. Your own mouth condemned you when you said, 'I killed the LORD's anointed.'" ¹⁷Then David composed this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan: ¹⁸He also instructed them to teach the children of Judah the use of the bow, as it is written in the Book of Jasher. ¹⁹"Israel, your finest lie dead on your hills! How the mighty have fallen! ²⁰Don't announce it in Gath. Don't proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon — or the Philistine women will celebrate, and the daughters of the uncircumcised will gloat. ²¹Mountains of Gilboa, may no dew or rain ever fall on you, and may your fields yield nothing for offerings. For there the shield of the mighty was thrown aside in disgrace—the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. ²²From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan's bow did not turn back, and Saul's sword did not return empty. ²³Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions. ²⁴Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul! He dressed you in fine scarlet, with other delights, and adorned your clothing with gold ornaments. ²⁵How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, you were slain in your high places. ²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love for me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women. ²⁷How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!"