2 Samuel 1:27

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

2 Samuel 1:27 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 1:27

How are the mighty fallen
This is the burden of this elegiac song, being the third time it is mentioned:

and the weapons of war perished!
not only the valiant soldiers were killed, but their arms were lost; and particularly he may mean Saul and Jonathan, who as they were the shields of the people, so they were the true weapons and instruments of war, and with them all military glory perished; which must be understood as a poetical figure, exaggerating their military characters; otherwise David, and many mighty men with him, remained, and who revived and increased the military glory of Israel, as the following history shows.

2 Samuel 1:27 In-Context

25 Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies dead on the hills.
26 How 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!
27 Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.