⁶ Their judges are thrown down by the sides of the rock; And they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

² And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.

⁴ Then said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armorbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.

⁵ And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died with him.

⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

⁷ And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸ And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

² Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.

¹² And `other' ten thousand did the children of Judah carry away alive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were broken in pieces.

² And David said unto all the assembly of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and if it be of Jehovah our God, let us send abroad every where unto our brethren that are left in all the land of Israel, with whom the priests and Levites are in their cities that have suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us;

³⁸ All these being men of war, that could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king.

¹ Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

² In times past, even when Saul was king, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and Jehovah thy God said unto thee, Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over my people Israel.

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of Jehovah by Samuel.

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

² And the Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.

³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers.

⁴ Then said Saul unto his armor-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.

⁵ And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword, and died.

⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons; and all his house died together.

⁷ And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

¹ Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse saith, And the man who was raised on high saith, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

¹ Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.

² In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was thou that leddest out and broughtest in Israel: and Jehovah said to thee, Thou shalt be shepherd of my people Israel, and thou shalt be prince over Israel.

³ So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah: and they anointed David king over Israel.

⁴ And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, The men of Jabesh-gilead were they that buried Saul.

⁵ And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of Jehovah, that ye have showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

⁶ And now Jehovah show lovingkindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

¹⁷ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:

¹⁸ (and he bade them teach the children of Judah `the song of' the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jashar):

¹⁹ Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!

²⁰ Tell it not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

²¹ Ye mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of offerings: For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

²² From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan turned not back, And the sword of Saul returned not empty.

²³ Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided: They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions.

²⁴ Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet delicately, Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

²⁵ How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain upon thy high places.

²⁶ I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love to me was wonderful, Passing the love of women.

²⁷ How are the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!

²² And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth: and they said, Is not this Joseph's son?