Tuesday in Easter

4Verse 4. “What was the outcome?” David asked. “Please tell me.” “The troops fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” 5Verse 5. Then David asked the young man who had brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6Verse 6. “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. 7Verse 7. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I answered, ‘Here I am!’ 8Verse 8. ‘Who are you?’ he asked. So I told him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9Verse 9. Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’ 10Verse 10. 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.” 11Verse 11. Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same. 12Verse 12. 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. 13Verse 13. And David inquired of the young man who had brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner,” he answered. “I am an Amalekite.” 14Verse 14. So David asked him, “Why were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” 15Verse 15. Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died. 16Verse 16. 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.’” 17Verse 17. Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, 18Verse 18. and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar: 19Verse 19. “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen! 20Verse 20. Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult. 21Verse 21. O mountains of Gilboa, may you have no dew or rain, no fields yielding offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, no longer anointed with oil. 22Verse 22. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not retreat, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23Verse 23. Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions. 24Verse 24. O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and luxury, who decked your garments with ornaments of gold. 25Verse 25. How the mighty have fallen in the thick of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 26Verse 26. I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women. 27Verse 27. How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”

27Verse 27. In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28Verse 28. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. ( This happened under Claudius.) 29Verse 29. So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30Verse 30. This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.