Bible Strands
2 Samuel 1:17
Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David composes a formal dirge immediately after executing an Amalekite who claimed to have killed King Saul. He speaks this composition on behalf of Saul and his son Jonathan following their battlefield deaths.
The words — The text highlights וַ/יְקֹנֵ֣ן (va/y.ko.Nen), meaning "and he lamented," and הַ/קִּינָ֖ה (ha./ki.Nah), meaning "the lamentation." These terms denote a structured poetic mourning rather than spontaneous grief.
The thread — Formal mourning for fallen leaders appears in 2 Chronicles 35:25, where Jeremiah laments King Josiah, and in Genesis 50:11, which records public mourning at the threshing floor of Atad. David’s composition follows this established pattern of national dirge for anointed rulers.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to recognize that mourning for political and spiritual leaders is a structured, communal act in Scripture. It demands attention to how grief is formally articulated rather than left to private emotion.
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 lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:
Cross-references
- 2 Chronicles 35:25 Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.
- 2 Samuel 1:19 “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen!
- Genesis 50:11 When the Canaanites of the land saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a solemn ceremony of mourning by the Egyptians.” Thus the place across the Jordan is called Abel-mizraim.
- Jeremiah 9:17 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them.