2 Samuel 1

1 And it was done, after that Saul was dead, that David turned again from the slaying of Amalek, and he dwelled two days in Ziklag. (And it was done, after Saul died, that David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and he stayed in Ziklag for two days.)

2 And in the third day a man appeared, coming from the tents of Saul with a cloth rent, and his head sprinkled with dust; and as he came to David, he felled upon his face, and worshipped him. (And on the third day a man appeared, coming from Saul's camp with a torn cloak, and his head sprinkled with dirt, or with earth; and when he came to David, he fell on his face, and honoured him.)

3 And David said to him, From whence comest thou? And he said to David, I fled from the tents of Israel.

4 And David said to him, What is the word that is done there; show thou to me (What happened there; tell thou to me). And he said, The people of Israel hath fled from the battle, and many of the people felled (by the sword), and be dead; but also Saul, and Jonathan, his son, have perished.

5 And David said to the young man, that told to him, Whereof knowest thou, that Saul is dead, and Jonathan, his son? (And David said to the young man, who told him this, How knowest thou that Saul, and his son Jonathan, be dead?)

6 And the young man said, that told to him, By hap I came into the hill of Gilboa, and Saul leaned upon his spear; and chariots and horsemen nighed to him; (And the young man, who told him this, said, By happenstance I was on Mount Gilboa, and Saul was leaning on his spear; and the chariots and the horsemen came towards him;)

7 and he turned behind his back, and saw me, and called. To whom when I had answered, I am present; (and he looked behind his back, and saw me, and called to me. To whom when I had answered, I am here;)

8 he said to me, Who art thou? And I said to him, I am a man of Amalek.

9 And he spake to me, (and said,) Stand thou upon me, and slay me (and kill me); for anguishes hold me, and yet all my life is in me.

10 And (so) I stood upon him, and I slew him; for I knew that he might not live after the falling (for I knew that he could not live as soon as he fell); and I took the diadem, that was on his head, and the band from his arm, and I have brought them hither to thee, my lord.

11 Forsooth David took and rent his clothes, and (likewise) [all] the men that were with him;

12 and they wailed, and wept, and fasted till to eventide, on Saul, and Jonathan, his son, and on the people of the Lord, and on the house of Israel, for they had felled by sword. (and they wailed, and wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan, his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.)

13 And David said to the young man, that told to him, Of whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a man comeling, of a man of Amalek. (And David said to the young man, who told him the news, Where art thou from? And he answered, I am the son of a newcomer, or of a foreigner, I am an Amalekite.)

14 And David said to him, Why dreadest thou not to send thine hand, that thou shouldest slay the christ of the Lord? (And David said to him, Why fearest thou not, to put forth thy hand to kill the Lord's anointed?)

15 And David called one of his young men, and said, Go thou, and fall on him. And he smote that young man, and he was dead (And he struck that young man, and he died).

16 And David said to him, Thy blood be on thine head; for thy mouth spake against thee, and said, I killed the christ of the Lord/I killed the anointed of the Lord.

17 Forsooth David bewailed such a wailing on Saul, and on Jonathan, his son; (And David bewailed this wailing, or this lament, for Saul, and for his son Jonathan;)

18 and he commanded, that they should teach the sons of Judah the bow, that is, the craft of shooting, as it is written in the Book of Just Men. (and he commanded, that they should teach the sons of Judah the use of the bow, that is, the craft of shooting arrows, as it is written in the Book of Jasher.)

19 And (so) David said, Israel, behold thou, for these that be dead, be wounded on thine high places; the noble men of Israel be slain upon thine hills. How have fallen [the] strong men? (How the strong have fallen!)

20 do not ye tell this in Gath, neither tell ye (it) in the way-lots of Askelon; lest peradventure the daughters of Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of uncircumcised men joy.

21 Hills of Gilboa, neither dew, neither rain come upon you, neither be they the fields of first fruits (nor be ye the fields of the first fruits); for the shield of (the) strong men was cast away there, the shield of Saul, as if he had not been anointed with oil.

22 Of the blood of slain men, of the fatness of strong men, the arrow of Jonathan went never aback, and the sword of Saul turned not again void.

23 Saul and Jonathan, amiable, and fair in their life, were not parted also in their death; they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. (Saul and Jonathan were so loved, and delightful, in their lives, and were not separated in their deaths; they were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.)

24 Daughters of Israel, weep ye on Saul, that clothed you with fine red, and in (other) delights, that gave golden ornaments to your attire. (Daughters of Israel, weep ye for Saul, who clothed you in fine red, and in other delights, who gave gold ornaments for your attire.)

25 How have strong men fallen down in battle? Jonathan was slain in the high places. (How the strong have fallen in battle! Jonathan was killed on the hills.)

26 I make sorrow upon thee, my brother Jonathan, full fair and amiable more than the love of women; as a mother loveth her only son, so I loved thee. (I have sorrow for thee, my brother Jonathan, so delightful, and whose love for me was more than even the love of women; like a mother loveth her only son, so I loved thee.)

27 How therefore felled down strong men, and armours of battle perished? (How the strong have fallen, and the arms, or the weapons, of battle have perished!)

2 Samuel 1 Commentary

Chapter 1

This book is the history of the reign of king David. It relates his victories, the growth of the prosperity of Israel, and his reformation of the state of religion. With these events are recorded the grievous sins he committed, and the family as well as public troubles with which he was punished. We here meet with many things worthy of imitation, and many that are written for our warning. The history of king David is given in Scripture with much faithfulness, and from it he appears, to those who fairly balance his many virtues and excellent qualities against his faults, to have been a great and good man.

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)

Verses 1-10 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.

Verses 11-16 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.

Verses 17-27 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.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL

This book, in many copies of the Hebrew Bible, is carried on without any new title put unto it; the reason of it is, because, by some, this, with the preceding, has been reckoned but one book: hence the Jews say {a}, Samuel wrote his book, not his books; in others it is called Samuel Second; and by the Vulgate Latin the Second Book of Samuel, which we call the Second of Kings; though why his name should be put to it at all I see not, since it neither concerns him, nor could it be written by him, being an history of events after his death. The Greek version calls it the Second of Kings; and the Syriac version, the Second Book of the Kings of Israel; whereas there is but one king of Israel it makes mention of, and of whose actions only it is an history; and therefore with greater propriety it is called, as the Arabic version, the Book of David the Prophet, of whose reign, from the beginning to the end of it, it gives an account: wherefore Isidore {b} thinks it was written by David; and if so, it has this mark of simplicity and integrity, that the writer does not spare himself, nor conceal his own faults, and particularly that very capital one, the affair of Bathsheba, and also his numbering of the people; but it is most probable that it was written by Nathan and Gad {c}, see 1Ch 29:29; but whoever was the penman of it, there is no doubt to be made of its being written by inspiration, or that it is canonical; which has never been questioned, since there stands in it a famous prophecy concerning the building of the temple by a son of David, which had an exact accomplishment, 2Sa 7:12,13; as well as of the family of David, for a great while to come, which also was fulfilled, 2Sa 7:19; and an eminent passage concerning the Messiah, the son of David, and of his divine sonship, 2Sa 7:14; quoted by the Apostle Paul in proof of it, Heb 1:5. It contains an history of about forty years, for so long David reigned, seven years and six months in Hebron, over Judah, and thirty three years in Jerusalem, over all Israel and Judah; and this book relates his last words.

{a} T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 14. 2. {b} Origin. l. 6. c. 2. {c} Alting. Theolog. Hist. loc. 2. p. 86.

\\INTRODUCTION TO SECOND SAMUEL 1\\

This chapter contains an account of the death of Saul and Jonathan, as related to David by an Amalekite, 2Sa 1:1-10; of the sorrow he and his men were filled with at the news of it, 2Sa 1:11,12; of his order to put to death the messenger that brought the tidings, for his concern in the death of Saul, according to his own testimony, 2Sa 1:13-16; and of a lamentation composed by David on this occasion, 2Sa 1:17-27.