2 Samuel — Chapter 1

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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;

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

9And he 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

1And 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;

2it came 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.

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

4And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, 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.

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

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

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

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

9And he said unto me, Stand, I pray thee, beside me, and slay me; for anguish hath taken hold of me, because my life is yet whole in me.

10So I stood beside 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.

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

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

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

14And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to put forth thy hand to destroy Jehovah`s anointed?

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

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

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

18(and he bade them teach the children of Judah [the song of] the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jashar):

19Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!

20Tell it not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

21Ye mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of offerings: For there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

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.

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.

24Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet delicately, Who put ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

25How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain upon thy high places.

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.

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

1After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, he stayed at Ziklag for two days.

2On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he approached David, the man threw himself to the ground.

3David asked him, “Where are you coming from?” He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

4David inquired, “How were things going? Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them fell dead. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”

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

6The young man said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him.

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

8He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him, ‘I’m an Amalekite.’

9He said to me, ‘Stand over me and finish me off! I’m very dizzy, even though I’m still alive.’

10So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition. Then I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.”

11David then grabbed his own clothes and tore them, as did all the men who were with him.

12They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s army, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.

13David said to the young man who told this to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.”

14David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

15Then David called one of the soldiers and said, “Come here and strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died.

16David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

17Then David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan.

18(He gave instructions that the people of Judah should be taught “The Bow.” Indeed, it is written down in the Scroll of the Upright One.)

19“The beauty of Israel lies slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

20Don’t report it in Gath, don’t spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!

21O mountains of Gilboa, may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil.

22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of warriors, the bow of Jonathan was not turned away. The sword of Saul never returned empty.

23Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved during their lives, and not even in their deaths were they separated. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

24O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewelry, who put gold jewelry on your clothes.

25How the warriors have fallen in the midst of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your high places!

26I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan. You were very dear to me. Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

27How the warriors have fallen! The weapons of war are destroyed!”

1After the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag;

2on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn, and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the earth, and showed respect.

3David said to him, “Where do you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.”

4David said to him, “How did it go? Please tell me.” He answered, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead. Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”

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

6The young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning on his spear; and behold, the chariots and the horsemen followed close behind him.

7When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’

8He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

9He said to me, ‘Please stand beside me, and kill me; for anguish has taken hold of me, because my life lingers in me.’

10So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

11Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and all the men who were with him did likewise.

12They mourned, wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they had fallen by the sword.

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

14David said to him, “Why were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh’s anointed?”

15David called one of the young men, and said, “Go near, and cut him down!” He struck him so that he died.

16David said to him, “Your blood be on your head; for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have slain Yahweh’s anointed.’”

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

18(and he commanded them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar):

19“Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

20Don’t tell it in Gath. Don’t publish it in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

21You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled and cast away, The shield of Saul was not anointed with oil.

22From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan’s bow didn’t turn back. Saul’s sword didn’t return empty.

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

24You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you delicately in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.

25How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places.

26I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

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

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

David learns of Saul and Jonathan's deaths and laments with a funeral dirge: "How are the mighty fallen!" He honors his fallen king and mourns his beloved friend rather than celebrating his own rise to power.

Authorship & Background

Author: Unknown, traditionally attributed to Nathan and Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29). Originally one book with 1 Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. The book covers David's entire reign — from his lament over Saul's death to the purchase of the threshing floor for the future Temple (approximately 1010-970 BC). Key themes: the Davidic covenant (chapter 7), the consequences of sin even for the forgiven (chapters 11-20), God's faithfulness despite human failure, and the establishment of the eternal throne fulfilled in Christ.
Historical Context: Chapter 1 opens 2 Samuel with David receiving news of Saul and Jonathan's deaths at Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). David has just returned from defeating the Amalekites who raided Ziklag (1 Samuel 30). An Amalekite messenger arrives claiming to have killed Saul at Saul's own request — a story that contradicts 1 Samuel 31:4, where Saul falls on his own sword. The Amalekite likely fabricated his role, expecting reward from David for eliminating his rival. Instead, David executes him for daring to touch "the LORD's anointed." David's grief is genuine and profound — he has lost both his king and his dearest friend. The chapter culminates in the Song of the Bow (vv.19-27), one of the most beautiful elegies in all of Scripture. David's lament reveals his character: he honors Saul despite years of persecution, and he mourns Jonathan with extraordinary tenderness. This is not political theater — it is the heart of a man who truly understood that God's anointed must be respected regardless of personal grievance.
The Amalekite's Report (vv.1-10): David returns to Ziklag after defeating the Amalekites who had raided the city and taken captives (1 Samuel 30). On the third day, a man arrives from Saul's camp with torn clothes and dirt on his head — signs of mourning and distress. He reports that Israel has been defeated, many have fallen, and both Saul and Jonathan are dead. When pressed for details, he claims he "happened by chance" upon Mount Gilboa and found Saul leaning on his spear with the enemy closing in. He claims Saul asked him to deliver the death blow because "anguish" had seized him but his life still lingered. He says he complied, then took Saul's crown and armlet as proof. This account contradicts 1 Samuel 31:4-5, where Saul falls on his own sword and his armor-bearer confirms his death. The Amalekite almost certainly lied, hoping David would reward him for removing his rival. He miscalculated David's character entirely.
David's Response (vv.11-16): David and his men tear their clothes, mourn, weep, and fast until evening — for Saul, for Jonathan, for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel. David's grief encompasses all of Israel's loss, not just his personal loss of Jonathan. He then turns to the Amalekite and asks his identity: "the son of a stranger, an Amalekite" — a resident alien in Israel. David's question is devastating: "How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?" (v.14). David, who twice refused to kill Saul when he had the opportunity (1 Samuel 24, 26), cannot fathom that someone would claim to have done what he himself would not do. He orders the man executed: "Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee" (v.16). The Amalekite is condemned by his own words — whether his story was true or fabricated, he claimed to have killed God's anointed, and that claim sealed his fate.
The Song of the Bow (vv.17-27): David composes a formal lament — a "qinah" (funeral dirge) — and commands that it be taught to the people of Judah. It is preserved in the Book of Jashar (also referenced in Joshua 10:13), a now-lost collection of Israel's heroic poetry. The song has three movements: (1) The fall of Israel's glory (vv.19-20), (2) Honor for Saul and Jonathan as warriors (vv.21-24), and (3) Personal grief for Jonathan (vv.25-27). The refrain "How are the mighty fallen!" appears three times (vv.19, 25, 27), structuring the poem. David calls for secrecy from Israel's enemies: "Tell it not in Gath" — do not let the Philistines celebrate. He curses Gilboa with drought. He praises both Saul and Jonathan as warriors — "swifter than eagles, stronger than lions." He calls the daughters of Israel to weep for Saul who clothed them in luxury. And he pours out his heart for Jonathan: "thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women" — a statement of covenant friendship, not romantic love. David and Jonathan's bond was a covenant of loyalty sealed before God (1 Samuel 18:3, 20:42), deeper than any human relationship David had known.

Map & Geography

  • Ziklag: David's base in the Negev (southern desert), given by Achish of Gath — where David receives the news
  • Mount Gilboa: Northern mountain range in the Jezreel Valley where Saul and Jonathan fell to the Philistines
  • Gath: One of the five Philistine cities on the western coastal plain — "Tell it not in Gath" (v.20)

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik notes that the Amalekite's story contradicts 1 Samuel 31 and was likely fabricated to gain David's favor. He emphasizes David's consistent principle of not harming God's anointed — a principle David maintained even when it cost him, and now enforces on others. The Song of the Bow reveals David's genuine heart: he honored Saul despite everything Saul had done to him.
  • Charles Spurgeon: "David's grief for Saul was no pretense. He who had spared Saul's life when he might have taken it now mourns Saul's death when he might have celebrated it. This is the mark of true grace — to honor God's appointments even when they have been our afflictions. David saw past Saul the persecutor to Saul the LORD's anointed, and he wept for what God had lost, not for what he himself had gained."

Reflection

  • 1. Honor God's appointments even when they hurt you (v.14). David honored Saul as "the LORD's anointed" despite years of unjust persecution. He refused to celebrate Saul's death or claim credit for his removal. When God places people in authority over us — even difficult people — our response reveals whether we trust God's sovereignty or only our own judgment.
  • 2. Genuine grief reveals genuine character (vv.11-12). David could have celebrated — his rival was dead, the throne was open. Instead, he mourned. His grief was not political strategy but the overflow of a heart that valued people over position. How we respond to the fall of those who opposed us reveals what we truly worship.
  • 3. Words have consequences (v.16). The Amalekite was condemned by his own testimony. Whether his story was true or false, his words sealed his fate. Scripture consistently warns that our words carry weight — they reveal our hearts and determine our outcomes (Matthew 12:37: "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned").
  • 4. Covenant love is the deepest human bond (v.26). David and Jonathan's friendship was not casual — it was covenant loyalty sealed before God. This kind of love sacrifices personal advantage for the other's good (Jonathan gave up his throne rights). Such friendships are rare and precious. They point to Christ's covenant love for us — He gave up everything for our sake.
  • 5. It is right to grieve well (vv.17-27). David did not suppress his grief or rush past it. He composed a formal lament, commanded it be taught to Judah, and gave his sorrow full expression. Grief honored well is not weakness — it is the proper response to real loss. The Psalms teach us that bringing our sorrow to God is an act of faith, not a failure of faith.