2 Samuel 1:4

4 David said to him, "¹How did things go? Please tell me." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."

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2 Samuel 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:4

And David said unto him, how went the matter? I pray thee, tell
me
That is, how went the battle? on which side the victory?

and he answered, that the people are fled from the battle;
meaning the people of Israel, they had given way, and turned their backs upon their enemies, and were fled:

and many of the people also are fallen and dead;
fell by the sword in the pursuit of them, and were not only wounded, but were slain, and these great numbers of them:

and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also;
which are mentioned last, because they fell some of the last; and this part of the account is reserved by the messenger to the last, because it was the article of the greatest importance; the death of these two persons, the one the enemy, and the other the friend of David, and the death of both made way for his accession to the throne.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

2 Samuel 1:4 In-Context

2 On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

3 Then David said to him, "From where do you come?" And he said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."

4 David said to him, "How did things go? Please tell me." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."

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

6 The young man who told him said, "By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely.

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1. 1 Samuel 4:16

2 Samuel 1:4

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2 Samuel 1:4 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:4 In-Context

Cross References 1