2 Samuel

After Saul died, David came back from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag for two days.

1Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;

NoteZiklag was a town in the far south that the Philistine king Achish had given David to live in while David was a fugitive from King Saul. The Amalekites were a nomadic people of the southern desert and long-standing enemies of Israel; they had just raided and burned Ziklag, and David had chased them down (1 Samuel 30). At this point David had been privately anointed as Saul's eventual successor but held no throne.

2On the third day a man arrived from Saul's camp. His clothes were torn and there was dirt on his head. When he reached David, he threw himself face down on the ground to show respect.

2It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

NoteTearing one's clothes and putting dust or dirt on the head were the standard public signs of mourning in Israel. A messenger arriving in that state announced a disaster before he said a word.

3David asked him, "Where have you come from?" He answered, "I escaped from the camp of Israel."

3And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.

4David said, "How did things go? Please tell me." The man answered, "The army ran away from the battle. Many of the soldiers fell and died. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead too."

4And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.

5David said to the young man who brought the news, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"

5And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?

6The young man said, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. There was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and horsemen closing in on him.

6And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

NoteMount Gilboa is a ridge in northern Israel overlooking the Jezreel Valley, where the Israelite army had been fighting the Philistines.

7When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me. I answered, "Here I am."

7And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.

8He said to me, "Who are you?" I told him, "I am an Amalekite."

8And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.

9Then he said to me, "Please stand over me and kill me. I am in agony, but I am still alive."

9He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.

NoteThe word translated "anguish" is rare and its sense uncertain, perhaps a spasm, a cramp, or dizziness. "My life is still whole in me" means that despite the wound he is not dying quickly.

10So I stood over him and killed him, because I was certain he could not survive after his fall. Then I took the crown off his head and the band off his arm, and I have brought them here to you, my lord."

10So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.

NoteThe crown and the armband were royal insignia; bringing them to David presents them both as proof of the report and as the tokens of kingship changing hands. The account differs from 1 Samuel 31, where Saul takes his own life with his own sword and no Amalekite is present. The text records the man's claim without confirming it.

11Then David grabbed his own clothes and tore them, and all the men with him did the same.

11Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:

12They mourned and cried and went without food until evening, for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the LORD's people and the nation of Israel, because they had been killed in battle.

12And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

NoteThe Israelite day ended at sunset, so fasting "until evening" means going without food for the whole remainder of the day, a full day of formal mourning.

13David asked the young man who brought the news, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I am the son of a foreigner. I am an Amalekite."

13And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.

Note"Son of a foreigner" means a resident alien: someone living permanently in Israel without Israelite ancestry. Such a person lived under Israel's laws and was answerable to them, which is why David's question about his origin matters.

14David said to him, "Why were you not afraid to raise your hand and kill the king the LORD had chosen, the man marked out by having oil poured on his head?"

14And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?

NoteKings in Israel were installed by having olive oil poured over the head, and "the LORD's anointed" was the ordinary title for the reigning king. His person was treated as protected from attack; twice earlier David had had the chance to kill Saul and had refused on those grounds (1 Samuel 24 and 26).

15Then David called one of his young men and said, "Go over and strike him down." So the man struck him, and he died.

15And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.

16David had said to him, "You brought your own death on yourself, because your own mouth spoke against you when you said, 'I killed the king the LORD had chosen.'"

16And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’s anointed.

Note"Your blood be on your own head" was a legal formula: responsibility for a death rests on the condemned man, not on those carrying out the sentence. A confession from a person's own mouth counted as sufficient evidence against him.

17Then David sang this song of grief for Saul and for his son Jonathan.

17And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:

NoteA lament was a recognized form of Hebrew poetry with its own rhythm, composed and sung for the dead.

18He also gave orders that the people of Judah be taught The Bow. It is written down in the Book of Jasher.

18(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)

NoteThe King James "the use of the bow" is compressed in the Hebrew. Most take "The Bow" as the title of the song itself, named from Jonathan's weapon in verse 22; others read it as an order that Judah be trained in archery. The Book of Jasher was a collection of Israelite poetry, now lost, quoted also in Joshua 10:13.

19"Israel, your glory lies dead on your hills. See how the mighty have fallen!

19The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

NoteThe King James "the beauty of Israel" translates a word meaning glory, splendor, or ornament. The poem does not say who or what is meant: it may be Saul and Jonathan themselves, or Israel's greatness lost with them. "High places" here means the heights of Mount Gilboa, though the same Hebrew phrase elsewhere means hilltop shrines.

20Do not tell it in Gath. Do not announce it in the streets of Ashkelon. If you do, the daughters of the Philistines will be glad, and the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.

20Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

NoteGath and Ashkelon were two of the five chief Philistine cities on the coastal plain. Women customarily met a returning army with singing and dancing to celebrate a victory (as in 1 Samuel 18:6-7), so "the daughters of the Philistines" stands for the victory songs that would follow the news. Israelite men were circumcised and the Philistines were not, so "the uncircumcised" was a common Israelite term for them.

21Mountains of Gilboa, may no dew or rain fall on you, and may your fields grow no grain for offerings. For there the shield of the mighty man was thrown down in disgrace, the shield of Saul, no longer rubbed with oil.

21Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

NoteLeather shields were rubbed with oil to keep them supple and serviceable; Saul's lies abandoned and untended. The same verb is used of anointing a king, so the line can be read either "no longer rubbed with oil" or "as though he had not been anointed with oil." "Fields of offerings" is obscure in the Hebrew: probably fields producing the grain used for offerings, though the phrase is read in other ways.

22From the blood of the killed, from the bodies of strong warriors, the bow of Jonathan never turned back, and the sword of Saul never came back with nothing.

22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

Note"Fat" stands for the strongest, choicest men, as the fat of an animal was its choicest part. Saying a bow did not turn back and a sword did not return empty is a standard way of saying the weapon never failed to strike.

23Saul and Jonathan were loved and admired while they lived, and in their death they were not separated. They were faster than eagles. They were stronger than lions.

23Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

NoteThe bird named is the nesher, either the eagle or the griffon vulture; it was proverbial for speed and for soaring flight.

24Daughters of Israel, cry for Saul. He dressed you in fine red cloth and other good things, and he put gold decorations on your clothes.

24Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

NoteScarlet cloth took an expensive imported dye and was a luxury item. Fine clothing and gold ornaments were typical spoils of a successful campaign, so the line credits the women's finery to Saul's wars.

25See how the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan lies dead on your hills.

25How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.

26I am in pain for you, my brother Jonathan. You were a delight to me. Your love for me was remarkable, greater than the love of women.

26I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

Note"Brother" is not literal: Jonathan was Saul's son, and he and David had bound themselves to each other by formal agreement (1 Samuel 18 and 20). The Hebrew word for love covers loyalty and formal alliance as well as personal affection, and the comparison in this line is left open by the text.

27See how the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war are destroyed!"

27How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

Note"The weapons of war" may mean literal arms lost on the field, or may stand for Saul and Jonathan themselves as the weapons Israel has now lost.