2 Samuel1

New Living Translation

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¹After the death of Saul, David returned from his victory over the Amalekites and spent two days in Ziklag.

²On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.

³“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I escaped from the Israelite camp,” the man replied.

⁴“What happened?” David demanded. “Tell me how the battle went.” The man replied, “Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵“How do you know Saul and Jonathan are dead?” David demanded of the young man.

⁶The man answered, “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy chariots and charioteers closing in on him.

⁷When he turned and saw me, he cried out for me to come to him. ‘How can I help?’ I asked him.

⁸“He responded, ‘Who are you?’ “‘I am an Amalekite,’ I told him.

⁹“Then he begged me, ‘Come over here and put me out of my misery, for I am in terrible pain and want to die.’

¹⁰“So I killed him,” the Amalekite told David, “for I knew he couldn’t live. Then I took his crown and his armband, and I have brought them here to you, my lord.”

¹¹David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news.

¹²They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.

¹³Then David said to the young man who had brought the news, “Where are you from?” And he replied, “I am a foreigner, an Amalekite, who lives in your land.”

¹⁴“Why were you not afraid to kill the Lord’s anointed one?” David asked.

¹⁵Then David said to one of his men, “Kill him!” So the man thrust his sword into the Amalekite and killed him.

¹⁶“You have condemned yourself,” David said, “for you yourself confessed that you killed the Lord’s anointed one.”

¹⁷Then David composed a funeral song for Saul and Jonathan,

¹⁸and he commanded that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is known as the Song of the Bow, and it is recorded in The Book of Jashar.

¹⁹Your pride and joy, O Israel, lies dead on the hills! Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen!

²⁰Don’t announce the news in Gath, don’t proclaim it in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice and the pagans will laugh in triumph.

²¹O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fruitful fields producing offerings of grain. For there the shield of the mighty heroes was defiled; the shield of Saul will no longer be anointed with oil.

²²The bow of Jonathan was powerful, and the sword of Saul did its mighty work. They shed the blood of their enemies and pierced the bodies of mighty heroes.

²³How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan! They were together in life and in death. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

²⁴O women of Israel, weep for Saul, for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing, in garments decorated with gold.

²⁵Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills.

²⁶How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan! Oh, how much I loved you! And your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women!

²⁷Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.

Study Guide

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)