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19 ‘The greatest men of Israel now lie on the mountains. They are dead!
Those brave men have fallen to the ground!
20 Do not tell the people in Gath about it.
Do not tell the news in the streets of Ashkelon.
If you do, the daughters of the Philistines will sing with joy.
Yes, those foreign people who do not worship God will be happy.
21 You mountains of Gilboa, I hope that no rain or dew will come on you now.
I pray that no crops will grow in your fields to make grain offerings.
In those fields, the shields of brave soldiers became useless.
No longer will anyone clean Saul's shield with oil.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 1:21 The Israelites made shields from leather and wood. They rubbed oil into the leather to make it strong. Then the leather did not become hard.

19 “A gazelle[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
    How the mighty(A) have fallen!(B)

20 “Tell it not in Gath,(C)
    proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,(D)
lest the daughters of the Philistines(E) be glad,
    lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.(F)

21 “Mountains of Gilboa,(G)
    may you have neither dew(H) nor rain,(I)
    may no showers fall on your terraced fields.[b](J)
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
    the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.(K)

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 1:19 Gazelle here symbolizes a human dignitary.
  2. 2 Samuel 1:21 Or / nor fields that yield grain for offerings