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19 “Your beauty, Israel, lies slain on your high places!
    O, how the valiant have fallen!
20 Don’t make it known in Gath!
    Don’t declare it in the avenues of Ashkelon!
Otherwise, the daughters of Philistia will rejoice;
    and the daughters of the uncircumcised will triumph.
21 Mountains of Gilboa,
    let no dew or rain fall on you,
        and may none of your fields be filled with plenty,
because in that place the shield of the valiant ones was defiled,
    the shield of Saul without an anointing with oil.
22 From the blood of the slain,
    from the blood of the valiant,
Jonathan’s bow would not retreat
    nor would Saul’s sword return empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan, loved and handsome in life,
    in death were not separated.
Swifter than eagles they were,
    and more valiant than lions.
24 Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul!
    He clothed you in scarlet luxury
        and decorated your garments with gold.
25 How have the valiant fallen in the tumult of battle!
    Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
26 I am in distress for you, my brother Jonathan.
    You have been most kind[a] to me.
Your love for me was extraordinary[b]
    beyond love from women.
27 How the valiant have fallen!
    How the weapons of war are destroyed!”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 1:26 Or pleasant
  2. 2 Samuel 1:26 Or wonderful

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)

22 “From the blood(L) of the slain,
    from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow(M) of Jonathan did not turn back,
    the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
    in life they were loved and admired,
    and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,(N)
    they were stronger than lions.(O)

24 “Daughters of Israel,
    weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
    who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.(P)

25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
    Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve(Q) for you, Jonathan(R) my brother;(S)
    you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,(T)
    more wonderful than that of women.

27 “How the mighty have fallen!
    The weapons of war have perished!”(U)

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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