Then David said to him, "{How did things go}? Please tell me." He answered, "{When} the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died."

Then David asked the young man who [was] reporting to him, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?"

The young man who [was] reporting to him said, "I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul [was] leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen [were] getting close to him.

Then they mourned and wept and fasted over Saul and Jonathan his son until the evening, [as well] as over the people of Yahweh and over the house of Israel because they had fallen by the sword.

Then David sang this funeral song over Saul and over Jonathan his son.

O mountains of Gilboa, [let there be] no dew or rain upon you or on the fields of [grain for] offerings, for there the small shield of [the] mighty [was] defiled, the small shield of Saul [was] not anointed with oil.

From the blood of [the] slain, from the fat of [the] mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return {without effect}.

Saul and Jonathan [were] beloved and pleasant in their lives and [were] not separated in their death. They [were] swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, the one who clothed you with crimson, the one who {adorned your clothing with golden ornaments}.

Then the men of Judah came, and they anointed David there as king over the house of Judah, and they told David, "The men of Jabesh-Gilead buried Saul."

So David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-Gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by Yahweh because you did this loyal love with your lord, with Saul, and you buried him.

So then, let your hands be strong and {be valiant}, for your lord Saul [is] dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them."

But Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over [to] Mahanaim.

Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul [was] forty years old when he became king over Israel and he reigned two years; however, the house of Judah {followed} David.

Abner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon.

So they came forward and passed by in number: twelve for Benjamin and for Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve from the servants of David.

The battle [was] prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David, but David {[was] growing stronger and stronger} while the house of Saul {[was] becoming weaker and weaker}.

As the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was [continuing], Abner was strengthening himself in the house of Saul.

Saul had had a concubine, and her name [was] Rizpah the daughter of Aiah. Then [Ish-Bosheth] said to Abner, "Why {did you have sex with} my father's concubine?"

{Abner became very angry} at the words of Ish-Bosheth, and he said, "[Am] I the head of a dog which [is] for Judah today? Do I not continue to show loyal love with the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends? I have not let you fall into the hands of David, yet you have {accused me of sin with this woman} today.

[specifically,] to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul and to establish the throne of David over Israel and over Judah from Dan to Beersheba!"

He said, "Good. {I will make a covenant with you}. I am asking only one thing from you: You shall not see my face unless you bring Michal the daughter of Saul when you come to see {me}."

Then David sent messengers to Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul, saying, "Give [me] my wife Michal whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred foreskins of [the] Philistines."

And Abner said to David, "Let me get up and go and gather all of Israel to my lord the king, that they may {make a covenant} with you so you can reign over all which your soul desires." So David dismissed Abner, and he left in peace.

When the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, {his courage failed} and all of Israel [was] horrified.

Two of the men, commanders of the raiding bands, were [for] the son of Saul. The name of one [was] Baanah, and the name of the other [was] Recab, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite from the descendants of Benjamin; also, Beeroth [was] regarded [as belonging] to Benjamin.

(Now Jonathan the son of Saul had a son who [was] crippled in the feet. He [was] five years old when the message of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse had picked him up and fled. It happened that as she [was] hurrying away to flee, he fell and became crippled. His name [was] Mephibosheth.)

They brought the head of Ish-Bosheth to David at Hebron, and they said to the king, "Here [is] the head of Ish-Bosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life. Yahweh has given to my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his offspring."

Then David answered Recab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and he said to them, "{As Yahweh lives}, who redeemed my soul from all trouble,

when the [one] who told me, "Look, Saul [is] dead," {thought that he [was] bringing good news}, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which [was] as my giving the news [back] to him.

{For some time}, when Saul was king over us, {you were leading Israel in and out}. Yahweh had said to you, 'You shall be the shepherd of my people Israel, and you will be the leader over Israel.'"

David had said, "On that day {when we attack the Jebusites}, one must attack the lame and the blind, [those] who hate the soul of David, by [means of] the water supply." For thus the blind and the lame would say, "He cannot come into the house."

It happened that when the ark of Yahweh came [into] the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before Yahweh, and she despised him in her heart.

When David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David. She said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today {by uncovering himself} before the eyes of the maids of his servants, {as the total exposure of a worthless one}."

So for Michal the daughter of Saul, she had no child until the day of her death.

But my loyal love shall not depart from him as I took [it] from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

Then David said, "[Is] there still anyone who [is] left for the house of Saul that I may show loyal love to him for the sake of Jonathan?"

Now Saul's household had a servant whose name [was] Ziba, so they summoned him to David, and the king asked him, "[Are] you Ziba?" He said, "{At your service}!"

Then the king said, "But [is] there still anyone of Saul's household that I may show the loyal love of God with him?" And Ziba said to the king, "There [is] still a son of Jonathan [who is] lame in the feet."

So Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David. And he fell on his face and did obeisance. David said, "Mephibosheth," and he said, "{I am ready to serve you}."

Then David said to him, "Don't be afraid, for {I will certainly show} loyal love to you for the sake of Jonathan your father, and I will restore to you all the lands of Saul your father. And you shall always eat food at my table."

David summoned Ziba the servant of Saul and said to him, "All that [was] Saul's and all his household I have given to the son of your master.

Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah [are] living in the booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord [are] camping on the surface of the open field; and I, shall I go to my house to eat and to drink and to sleep with my wife? [By] your life and the life of your soul, I surely will not do this thing."

Then Nathan said to him, "You [are] the man! Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I anointed you as king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

The king asked, "[Was] the hand of Joab with you in all of this?" The woman answered and said, "{As your soul lives}, my lord the king, surely [one cannot] go to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has spoken. Yes, your servant Joab himself commanded me, and he put all of these words in the mouth of your servant.

As far as Absalom, there was not a more handsome man in all of Israel to admire so much; from the sole of his foot up to his crown, there was no physical defect on him.

King David came up to Bahurim and suddenly a man from there [was] coming out from the family of the house of Saul, and his name [was] Shimei the son of Gera. {He was cursing as he came out}.

Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul {whom you have supplanted as king}, and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you [are] in disaster for you [are] a man of blood."

and a thousand men [were] with him from Benjamin. Too, Ziba the servant of the household of Saul and fifteen of his sons and twenty of his servants [were] with him, and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

Now, Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king; he had not taken care of his feet nor trimmed his moustache nor washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he came back in peace.

I [am] one of the faithful representatives of Israel. You [are] seeking to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why do you want to swallow the inheritance of Yahweh?"

Then Joab answered and said, "Far be it, far be it from me that I should swallow or I should destroy.

There [was] a famine in the days of David [for] three years, year after year. And David {inquired of Yahweh}, and Yahweh said, "The bloodguilt [is] on Saul and on his household, because he killed the Gibeonites."

So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites [were] not from the {Israelites}; they [were] from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the {Israelites} had sworn to them, but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the {Israelites} and Judah.

Then the Gibeonites said to him, "{It is not a matter for us of} silver or gold with Saul or with his household. It is not for us to put to death anyone in Israel." He asked, "What [are] you saying [that] I should do for you all?"

let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh." Then the king said, "I will give them over."

But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which [was] between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

So the king took two of the sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, namely Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five of the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

David [was] told about what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where [the] Philistines hung them {when} [the] Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.

He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed.

And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the land of Benjamin at Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. They did all that the king had commanded, and afterward God was entreated for the land.

Then David spoke to Yahweh the words of this song, on the day Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

so that Yahweh may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons take heed of their way, to walk before me in faithfulness, with all their heart and with all their soul, no man of yours will be cut off from the throne of Israel.'"

if they return to you with all of their heart and with all of their soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive and they pray to you toward their land which you gave to their ancestors, the city that you have chosen and the house that you built for your name,

You I will take, and you shall reign over all your soul desires, and you shall be king over Israel.

So she wrote letters in the name of Ahab and sealed them with his seal. She sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who [were] dwelling with Naboth in his city.

Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for Yahweh has sent me up to Bethel." Elisha said, "{As Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, I will certainly not leave you!" So they went down [to] Bethel.

Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here because Yahweh has sent me to Jericho." And he said, "{As Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, I will certainly not leave you!" So they came to Jericho.

Then Elijah said to him, "Please stay here, because Yahweh has sent me to the Jordan." He said, "{As Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, I will certainly not leave you!" So the two of them went on.

So she came and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the olive oil and repay your debt. You and your sons can live on what is left over."

So she came to the man of God at the mountain, and she caught hold of his feet. Then Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said, "Let her alone, for her soul is bitter, and Yahweh has hidden it from me and has not told me."

Then the mother of the boy said, "{As Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, I will surely not leave you." So he got up and went after her.

Then Naaman said, "If not, then please let a load of soil on a pair of mules be given to your servants, for your servant will never again bring a burnt offering and sacrifice to other gods, [but] only to Yahweh.

Elisha said, "Hear the word of Yahweh: 'Thus says Yahweh, "At this time tomorrow a seah of wheat bread flour [will sell] for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel in the gate of Samaria.'"

Then he said, "Come with me! Look at my zeal for Yahweh!" So he let him ride in his chariot.

Then his servants arose and conspired and killed Joash [in] the house of the Millo as he was going down toward Silla.

He also killed ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and he seized Sela in the battle, and he called its name Jokteel, until this day.

I dug [wells] and I drank foreign water, and I dried up with the sole of my steps all the canals of Egypt.'

For from Jerusalem a remnant shall go out and survivors from Mount Zion; the zeal of Yahweh will do this.

Then the king stood by the pillar, and he {made} a covenant before Yahweh, to go after Yahweh and to keep his commands and his warnings and his statutes, with all of [his] heart and with his all of his soul, to keep the words of this covenant written on this scroll. Then all of the people {joined} in the covenant.

There was not a king like him before him, who turned to Yahweh with all of his heart and with all of his soul and with all of his might according to the law of Moses, nor did one arise like him afterwards.

And in the days of Saul they made war against the Hagrites, and they fell into their hand. And they lived in their tents in all the region east of Gilead.

And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.

And from the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Hodaviah, the son of Hassenuah;

And Ner fathered Kish, and Kish fathered Saul, and Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.

And the Philistines {overtook} Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua, the sons of Saul.

And the battle was heavy against Saul, and the {archers} found him, and he was wounded by the {archers}.

And Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and deal harshly with me." But he was very afraid. Then Saul took the sword and fell upon it.

When his armor-bearer saw that Saul [was] dead, he also fell upon the sword, and he died.

So Saul died. And his three sons and all his house died together.

And when all the men of Israel who [were] in the valley saw that they had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. Then the Philistines came and dwelled in them.

And it happened [that] on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

When all Jabesh-Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

every strong man arose and took the dead body of Saul and the dead bodies of his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

So Saul died on account of his sin which he had sinned against Yahweh concerning the command of Yahweh that he did not keep. He also consulted a medium to seek [guidance].

{For some time now}, even when Saul was king, you were {the one who led the army of Israel in battle}. And Yahweh your God said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel and will be leader over my people Israel.'"

Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag while he was still shut up because {of Saul}, the son of Kish. And they [were] the mighty warriors helping [with] the war.

[They were] armed with [the] bow, [able to shoot] right-handed or left-handed, [slinging] stones or [shooting] arrows with the bow; [they were] kinsmen of Saul from Benjamin.

And some Manassites deserted to David when he came with the Philistines to the battle against Saul, but he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines sent him away upon counsel, saying, "He will desert to his master Saul at [the cost of] our heads."