Bible Strands
2 Samuel 1:16
For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks to the Amalekite messenger immediately after commanding his execution, declaring the man's fate as a direct result of his own confession. The words — The phrase דָּמְ/ךָ֖ עַל־ רֹאשֶׁ֑/ךָ (da.mei./kha 'al- ro.She./kha) literally renders "your blood upon your own head," highlighting that the speaker's own mouth has served as the instrument of his condemnation. The thread — This principle of self-incrimination aligns with the bloodguilt principle in Leviticus 20:9 and mirrors the judicial dynamic in Luke 19:22 where judgment is rendered by one's own words, while contrasting with the collective guilt assumed in Matthew 27:25. Why it lands — The text demands that readers acknowledge the finality of self-testimony and the necessity of holding individuals accountable for their own claims rather than accepting opportunistic narratives.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord’s anointed.
Cross-references
- Matthew 27:25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
- Luke 19:22 His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
- Leviticus 20:9 If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
- 1 Samuel 26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?”
- Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Joshua 2:19 If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads.
- 2 Samuel 1:10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
- 1 Kings 2:37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
- Proverbs 6:2 if you have been trapped by the words of your lips, ensnared by the words of your mouth,
- Genesis 9:5 And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: