2 Samuel1

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¹After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.

²On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.

³“Where have you come from?” David asked him. He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”

⁴“What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.” “The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”

⁵Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit.

⁷When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’

⁸“He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ “‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.

⁹“Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’

¹⁰“So I stood beside 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 on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.

¹²They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?” “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.

¹⁴David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

¹⁵Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died.

¹⁶For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

¹⁷David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,

¹⁸and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):

¹⁹“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!

²⁰“Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.

²¹“Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, may no showers fall on your terraced fields. For there the shield of the mighty was despised, the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.

²²“From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.

²³Saul and Jonathan— in life they were loved and admired, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

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

²⁵“How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

²⁶I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.

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

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Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for 2 Samuel 1.

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Chapter Summary

In this chapter: Tidings brought to David of the death of Saul. (1–10). The Amalekite is put to death. (11–16). David's lamentation for Saul and Jonathan. (17–27).

vv1-10

The blow which opened David's way to the throne was given about the time he had been sorely distressed. Those who commit their concerns to the Lord, will quietly abide his will. It shows that he desired not Saul's death, and he was not impatient to come to the throne.

vv11-16

David was sincere in his mourning for Saul; and all with him humbled themselves under the hand of God, laid so heavily upon Israel by this defeat. The man who brought the tidings, David put to death, as a murderer of his prince. David herein did not do unjustly; the Amalekite confessed the crime. If he did as he said, he deserved to die for treason; and his lying to David, if indeed it were a lie, proved, as sooner or later that sin will prove, lying against himself. Hereby David showed himself zealous for public justice, without regard to his own private interest.

vv17-27

Kasheth, or “the bow,” probably was the title of this mournful, funeral song. David does not commend Saul for what he was not; and says nothing of his piety or goodness. Jonathan was a dutiful son, Saul an affectionate father, therefore dear to each other. David had reason to say, that Jonathan's love to him was wonderful. Next to the love between Christ and his people, that affection which springs form it, produces the strongest friendship. The trouble of the Lord's people, and triumphs of his enemies, will always grieve true believers, whatever advantages they may obtain by them.

Key Words

AfterH310Hebrew

אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)

deathH4194Hebrew

מָוֶת: death (natural or violent); concretely, the dead, their place or state (hades); figuratively, pestilence, ruin

SaulH7586Hebrew

שָׁאוּל: Shaul, the name of an Edomite and two Israelites

DavidH1732Hebrew

דָּוִד: David, the youngest son of Jesse

returnedH7725Hebrew

שׁוּב: to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again

striking downH5221Hebrew

נָכָה: to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)

AmalekitesH6002Hebrew

עֲמָלֵק: Amalek, a descendant of Esau; also his posterity and their country

remainedH3427Hebrew

יָשַׁב: properly, to sit down (specifically as judge. in ambush, in quiet); by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry

twoH8147Hebrew

שְׁנַיִם: two; also (as ordinal) twofold

daysH3117Hebrew

יוֹם: a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb)