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

David asked him, “Where are you coming from?” He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” David inquired, “How were things going?[d] Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them[e] fell dead.[f] Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 1:2 sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.
  2. 2 Samuel 1:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.
  3. 2 Samuel 1:2 tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”
  4. 2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “What was the word?”
  5. 2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “from the people.”
  6. 2 Samuel 1:4 tn Heb “fell and died.”