Bible Strands
2 Samuel 1:12
They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David and his men respond to the Amalekite’s report of Saul and Jonathan’s deaths by tearing their clothes and initiating collective mourning. This occurs immediately after the messenger delivers his account and before David questions his geographic origin.
The words — The Hebrew verbs וַֽיִּסְפְּדוּ (yispeḏû, “they mourned”), וַֽיִּבְכּוּ (yivkû, “they wept”), and וַֽיָּצֻמוּ (yāṣûmû, “they fasted”) describe a unified response that lasts עַד־הָעֶרֶב (“until evening”).
The thread — The text’s focus on mourning the fallen aligns with the prohibition in Proverbs 24:17 against gloating over an enemy’s fall, while the communal fasting for the dead stands apart from the personal fasting for ill companions in Psalms 35:13 and the command to love persecutors in Matthew 5:44.
Why it lands — The passage records a historical reaction to national tragedy without prescribing it as a normative practice. It requires readers to separate descriptive accounts of ancient mourning from prescriptive ethical commands regarding how to treat those who oppose them.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
Cross-references
- Psalms 35:13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
- Proverbs 24:17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,
- Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- 2 Samuel 3:35 Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
- Amos 6:6 You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
- 2 Corinthians 11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?
- 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
- Jeremiah 9:1 Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.