2 Samuel 1: The news of Saul's death, and David's lament for Saul and Jonathan
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What happens?
David is back at Ziklag after striking the Amalekites, and on the third day a man comes from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and earth on his head. He tells David that the people have fled and that Saul and Jonathan are dead, and he says that he found Saul leaning on his spear on Mount Gilboa and killed him when Saul asked him to; he has brought Saul's crown and bracelet. His account is not the same as the one in 1 Samuel 31, and the text does not say how the two fit. David and his men tear their clothes, mourn, weep and fast until evening, and David has the man, an Amalekite, struck down for saying he killed Yahweh's anointed. Then David sings a lament over Saul and Jonathan, which is written in the Book of Jashar.
Who is speaking?
The narrator tells the story. No verse is in gold: God speaks no words in this chapter. David questions the young man in verses 3 to 5, 13 and 14, and the young man answers in verses 3, 4, 6 to 10 and 13; in verses 7 to 9 he tells what he says Saul said to him and what he answered. David gives an order in verse 15 and speaks to the man in verse 16. Verses 19 to 27 are David's lament for Saul and Jonathan, his own words. God's own words are printed in gold, and those verses are marked God speaks
1After the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag,
In plain English: After Saul's death, when David had come back from striking down (this Bible: the slaughter of) the Amalekites, David stayed two days in Ziklag.
Good to know: David had just struck the Amalekites who raided and burned Ziklag (, ). In verses 8 and 13 the man who comes with the news says he is an Amalekite.
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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.
In plain English: On the third day a man came from Saul's camp, with his clothes torn and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and bowed down (this Bible: showed respect).
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3David said to him, “Where do you come from?” He said to him, “I have escaped out of the camp of Israel.”
In plain English: David said to him, "Where have you come from?" He said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."
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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.”
In plain English: David said to him, "How did it go (literally: what was the word)? Please tell me." He answered, "The people have fled from the battle. Many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are dead too."
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5David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”
In plain English: David said to the young man who brought him the news, "How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"
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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.
In plain English: The young man who brought the news said, "I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul, leaning on his spear. The chariots and the horsemen were close behind him (literally: had caught up with him).
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7When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’
In plain English: When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, 'Here I am.'
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8He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’
In plain English: He said to me, 'Who are you?' I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.'
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9He said to me, ‘Please stand beside me, and kill me, for anguish has taken hold of me because my life lingers in me.’
In plain English: He said to me, 'Please stand over me (this Bible: beside me) and kill me, because anguish (or: dizziness) has taken hold of me, for my life is still in me (literally: all my life is still in me).'
The Hebrew word: "Anguish" is shabats, which the dictionary gives as "entanglement, i.e. (figuratively) perplexity". It is in only this verse of the Bible. The STEPBible meaning for this verse gives it as "dizziness", and the old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "a dreadful darkness".
What changes: Read as "anguish" or "perplexity", Saul is in great distress. Read as "dizziness" or "darkness", he is faint and about to pass out. Either way, he says his life is still in him and asks to be killed.
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10So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after 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.”
In plain English: So I stood over him (this Bible: beside him) and killed him, because I was sure he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet (or: armband) that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord."
Good to know: The young man's account is not the same as the one in to . There the archers overtake Saul, he asks his armor bearer to kill him, the armor bearer will not, and Saul takes his sword and falls on it; then the armor bearer sees that Saul is dead. Here the young man says he found Saul leaning on his spear with the chariots and horsemen close behind, that Saul asked him to kill him, and that he did, and he brings Saul's crown and bracelet. The text does not say how the two accounts fit together, and readers explain it in different ways. In David speaks of him as one who "told me, 'Behold, Saul is dead,' thinking that he brought good news".
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11Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did likewise.
In plain English: Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.
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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.
In plain English: They mourned, wept and fasted until evening for Saul, for his son Jonathan, for the people of Yahweh and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
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13David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” He answered, “I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite.”
In plain English: David said to the young man who brought him the news, "Where are you from?" He answered, "I am the son of a foreigner (literally: a man who is a guest), an Amalekite."
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14David said to him, “Why were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh’s anointed?”
In plain English: David said to him, "How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy Yahweh's anointed?"
Good to know: "Yahweh's anointed" is mashiach, which the dictionary gives as "anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint)". It is the word David used when he would not harm Saul: "who can stretch out his hand against Yahweh's anointed, and be guiltless?" (; also ). The same word is in verses 16 and 21.
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15David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and cut him down!” He struck him so that he died.
In plain English: David called one of the young men and said, "Go near and strike him down (literally: fall on him)!" He struck him, and he died.
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16David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have slain Yahweh’s anointed.’”
In plain English: David said to him, "Your blood is on your own head (or: be on your own head), because your own mouth has spoken against you (this Bible: testified against you), saying, 'I have killed Yahweh's anointed.'"
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17David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son
In plain English: David sang this lament (this Bible: lamented with this lamentation) over Saul and over his son Jonathan.
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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):
In plain English: He said that the people (this Bible: children) of Judah were to be taught "the Bow" (this Bible: the song of the bow; or: taught to use the bow; the Hebrew has only the word: bow). Look, it is written in the Book of Jashar (or: the Book of the Upright).
The Hebrew words: The Hebrew has only one word here, qeshet, "bow": word for word, "to teach the children of Judah, Bow". The dictionary gives qeshet as "a bow", and "figuratively, strength". "The song of" is this Bible's addition. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has no word for bow: "he gave orders to teach it the sons of Juda".
What changes: Read the way this Bible has it, "the Bow" is the name of the lament, and Jonathan's bow is named in verse 22. Read the other way, David said the people of Judah were to be taught to use the bow. The text does not say which.
Good to know: The Book of Jashar is the book named in (see the note there). It is not one of the books of the Bible, and the text says nothing more about it.
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19“Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!
In plain English: "Your glory (or: The gazelle), Israel, lies slain on your heights (this Bible: high places)! How the mighty have fallen!
The Hebrew word: "Your glory" is tsebi, which the dictionary gives as "splendor (as conspicuous); also a gazelle (as beautiful)". This Bible says "glory" in 10 of the 32 verses that use it, and "gazelle" or a longer form in 10. In it is the gazelle that Asahel was as swift as. "High places" is bamah, which the dictionary gives as "an elevation". This Bible also uses "high place" for a place where the people sacrifice (). The text does not say more here; in the men of Israel fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
What changes: Read as "glory" or "beauty", David speaks of the fallen as the splendor of Israel. Read as "gazelle", he calls the fallen by the name of the swift and beautiful animal. The old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) reads the line another way: "Set up a pillar, O Israel, for the slain that died upon thy high places".
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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.
In plain English: Do not tell it in Gath. Do not spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, or the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate (this Bible: triumph).
Good to know: Gath and Ashkelon are two of the five Philistine cities named in . "The daughters of the Philistines" can be read as the Philistine women: in the women came out of all the cities of Israel "singing and dancing" when David came back from killing the Philistine. The dictionary says the word "daughter" is used "in the same wide sense as other terms of relationship", and in this Bible gives it as the "villages" of a city, so it can also be read as the Philistine towns. The text does not say which.
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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.
In plain English: You mountains of Gilboa, may there be no dew or rain on you, and no fields of offerings (or: fields that give offerings). For there the shield of the mighty was defiled and thrown away (the Hebrew has one word here: defiled, or rejected), the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil (this can be said of the shield or of Saul: see the note).
The Hebrew words: "Fields of offerings" is sedei terumot. The dictionary gives terumah as "a present (as offered up), especially in sacrifice or as tribute"; the old Greek translation in this collection (Brenton) has "fields of first-fruits". "Defiled" is ga'al, "to detest; by implication, to reject"; this Bible says "abhor" or a longer form in 5 of the 9 verses that use it, and Brenton has "grievously assailed". "Anointed" is mashiach, the same word as "Yahweh's anointed" in verses 14 and 16.
What changes: "No fields of offerings" can be read as fields that grow nothing to bring as an offering, or as a wish that nothing grow there at all. Read the way this Bible has it, the shield was defiled, made unclean; read with the dictionary's "to reject", it was cast off and rejected. The last words can be read of the shield, no longer anointed with oil, or of Saul himself, fallen as though he had not been Yahweh's anointed. The text does not say which.
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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.
In plain English: From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, Jonathan's bow did not turn back, and Saul's sword did not come back empty.
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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.
In plain English: Saul and Jonathan were lovely (or: loved) and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.
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24You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you delicately in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.
In plain English: You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who dressed you in scarlet and fine things (this Bible: delicately), who put gold ornaments on your clothing.
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25How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan was slain on your high places.
In plain English: How the mighty have fallen in the middle of the battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights (this Bible: high places).
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26I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.
In plain English: I am in distress for you, my brother Jonathan. You were very dear (this Bible: pleasant) to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more than the love of women.
The Hebrew word: "Love" is ahavah, which the dictionary gives as "affection". It is the word used in and , where Jonathan loved David "as his own soul". The text says nothing more about it here.
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27How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
In plain English: How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!"
The Hebrew word: "Weapons" is keli, which the dictionary gives as "something prepared, i.e. any apparatus (as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon)". This Bible says "vessel" or a longer form in 124 of the 276 verses that use it, and "weapon" or a longer form in 24.
What changes: Read as the weapons themselves, the lament ends with the arms of war lost on the field. Read as a picture, "the weapons of war" are Saul and Jonathan, the mighty who have fallen. The text does not say which.
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