2 Samuel 1

1 After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.

After Saul died, David [and the men who were with him] returned to Ziklag [town] after defeating the descendants of Amalek. They stayed in Ziklag for two days.

2 On 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.

On the third day, unexpectedly a man arrived there who had come from where Saul’s army was camped. He had torn his clothes and put dust on his head [to show that he was grieving]. He came to David, and prostrated himself on the ground [in front of David to show respect for him].

3 “Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.

David asked him, “Where have you come from?” The man replied, “I escaped from where the Israeli army had been camped.”

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.”

David asked him, “What happened? Tell me [about the battle]!” The man replied, “The Israeli soldiers ran away from the battle. Many of them were killed. And Saul and his son Jonathan (are dead/were also killed).”

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

David said to the young man, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

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.

The young man replied, “It happened that I was on Gilboa Mountain [where the battle occurred], and I saw Saul, leaning on his spear. The [enemy] chariots and their drivers had come very close to Saul.

7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out and I answered, ‘Here I am!’

Saul turned around and saw me, and he called out to me. I answered him and said, ‘What do you want me to do?’

8 ‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

He replied, ‘Who are you?’ I replied, ‘I am a descendant of Amalek.’

9 Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’

Then he said to me, ‘Come over here and kill me. I am still alive, but I am enduring a lot of pain.’

10 So 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.”

So I went to him and killed him, because I knew that he was wounded very badly and would (not continue to live/soon die). I took the crown that was on his head and the band/bracelet that was on his arm, and I have brought them to you.”

11 Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.

Then David and all the men who were with him tore their clothes [to show that they were very sad].

12 They 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.

They mourned for Saul and his son Jonathan, and they cried and (fasted/abstained from eating food) until it was evening. They also mourned for all the army of Yahweh, and for all the Israeli people, because many of their soldiers had been killed in the battle [MTY].

13 And 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.”

Then David asked the young man who had told him [about the battle], “Where are you from?” He replied, “My father is a descendant of Amalek, but we live in Israel.”

14 So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”

David asked him, “(Why were you not afraid [that you would be punished if you] killed Saul, whom Yahweh had appointed [MTY] [to be the king]?/You should have been afraid [that you would be punished if you] killed Saul, whom Yahweh had appointed [MTY] [to be the king].) [RHQ]

15 Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died.

You yourself said, ‘I killed the man whom Yahweh appointed to be the king.’ So you have caused yourself to be guilty [MTY] of causing your own death!” Then David summoned one of his soldiers and said to him, “Kill him!” So the soldier killed him by striking him [with a sword].

16 For 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.’”

17 Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan,

Then David composed/wrote this sad song about Saul and Jonathan,

18 and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar:

and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. [The song is called] ‘The Bow [and Arrow]’ and it has been written in the Book of Jashar:

19 “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!

“You Israeli people, your glorious [MTY] leaders have been killed on the mountains! [It is very sad that] those mighty men have died!

20 Tell 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.

“Do not tell it [to our enemies in the Philistia area]; do not tell to the people who live in Gath [city] what happened; do not proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon [city], because if you tell them, [even] the women in that area will be happy; do not allow those (pagan women/women who do not know God) to rejoice.

21 O 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.

I hope/desire that there will be no rain or dew on the mountains of [the] Gilboa [area] [APO], and that no grain will grow in the fields there, because there the shield of Saul, the mighty [king], fell on the ground. No one rubbed [olive] oil on Saul’s shield;

22 From 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.

instead, it was stained with the blood of those whom he had killed, and the fat of mighty enemy soldiers was smeared on it. Jonathan [PRS] did not retreat carrying his bow [and arrows], and Saul always [defeated his enemies when he fought them] with his sword. [PRS, LIT]

23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

“Saul and Jonathan were loved and they pleased many people. They were together [LIT] while they lived and when they died. [In battles] they were swifter than eagles and they were stronger than lions.

24 O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and luxury, who decked your garments with ornaments of gold.

“You Israeli women, cry about Saul; He provided beautiful scarlet/red clothes for you and he gave you gold ornaments/jewelry to fasten on those clothes.

25 How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

“[It is very sad that] this mighty soldier has died! Jonathan has been killed on the mountains/hills.

26 I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

Jonathan, my dear friend, I grieve for you; you were very dear to me. You loved me in a wonderful manner; it was better than the way that a woman loves [her husband and her children].

27 How the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war have perished!”

“It is very sad that those mighty men have died, and their weapons are now abandoned!