Saul’s Death Reported to David
(1 Samuel 31:1–6; 1 Chronicles 10:1–6)
After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 1Sa 27:61Sa 30:17-261Sa 31:6 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. 1Sa 4:122Sa 4:101Sa 25:23Jos 7:61Sa 20:411Sa 4:162Sa 14:42Sa 15:32
“Where have you come from?” David asked. 2Ki 5:25Job 1:15-19
“I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.
“What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” 1Sa 31:1-61Sa 4:161Ch 10:1-6
“The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”
Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” Pro 14:15Pro 25:2
“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. 1Sa 28:41Ch 10:4-61Sa 31:1-71Sa 6:92Sa 1:21Luk 10:31Rut 2:3 When he turned around and saw me, he called out and I answered, ‘Here I am!’ 1Sa 22:122Sa 9:6Isa 6:8Isa 65:1Jdg 9:54
‘Who are you?’ he asked. 1Sa 30:131Sa 30:171Sa 15:31Sa 30:11Sa 27:8Deu 25:17-19Exo 17:8-16Gen 14:7
So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
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.” Jdg 9:54Mat 7:22Ki 11:121Sa 22:181Sa 31:4-52Sa 12:30Jdg 1:7Lam 5:16
Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same. 2Sa 13:312Sa 3:31Gen 37:29Gen 37:34Act 14:14Jos 7:6Rom 12:15 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. Mat 5:44Pro 24:17Psa 35:13-141Pe 3:82Co 11:292Sa 3:35Amo 6:6Jer 9:1
And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” 2Sa 1:8
“I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.”
So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 1Sa 26:91Sa 24:61Sa 31:42Pe 2:10Num 12:8Psa 105:15 Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died. 1Ki 2:251Ki 2:341Ki 2:461Sa 22:17-182Sa 4:10-12Jdg 8:20Job 5:12Pro 11:18 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.’” Mat 27:25Luk 19:221Sa 26:9Lev 20:9Rom 3:191Ki 2:372Sa 1:10Jos 2:19
David’s Song for Saul and Jonathan
Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, 2Ch 35:252Sa 1:19Gen 50:11Jer 9:17-21 and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. 1 It is written in the Book of Jashar: 2 Jos 10:13Gen 49:8Deu 4:10
“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. 2Sa 1:272Sa 1:25Deu 4:7-8Lam 5:161Sa 31:82Sa 1:23Isa 4:2Lam 2:1
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath; Mic 1:101Sa 18:6Exo 15:20-21Jdg 11:341Sa 17:261Sa 17:361Sa 31:41Sa 31:8-9
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
O mountains of Gilboa, 1Sa 31:1Isa 21:51Sa 10:11Ch 10:11Ch 10:8Ezk 31:15Isa 5:6Jdg 5:23
may you have no dew or rain,
no fields yielding offerings of grain. 3
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain, 1Sa 18:4Isa 34:6-71Sa 14:6-14Deu 32:42
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not retreat,
and the sword of Saul did not return empty.
Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, Jer 4:13Jdg 14:18Deu 28:49Job 9:26Lam 4:19Pro 30:301Ch 12:81Sa 18:1
were not divided in death.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
O daughters of Israel, 1Pe 3:3-51Ti 2:9-10Isa 3:16-26Jdg 5:30Jer 2:32Pro 31:21Psa 68:12
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and luxury,
who decked your garments with ornaments of gold.
How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! 2Sa 1:192Sa 1:271Sa 14:13-15Jdg 5:18Lam 5:16
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. 1Sa 20:171Sa 18:1-41Sa 20:411Sa 19:21Sa 23:16
You were delightful to me;
your love to me was extraordinary,
surpassing the love of women.
How the mighty have fallen 2Sa 1:252Sa 1:19Ezk 39:9-10Psa 46:92Ki 2:122Ki 13:14
and the weapons of war have perished!”