Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

2 Samuel 1:4

David asked him, "Please tell me, who won the battle?" The man answered, "Our people ran away from the battle. Many of them were killed in the battle. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - David;   Thompson Chain Reference - Defeats;   Israel;   Israel-The Jews;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Jonathan;   Saul;   Temple;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ziklag;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Amalekites;   Samuel, the Books of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Court Systems;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Israel;   Samuel, Books of;   Saul;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Mount gilboa;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Dwelling;   Jonathan;   Scripture;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Da'vid;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Samuel, Books of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hafá¹­arah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“What was the outcome? Tell me,” David asked him.
Hebrew Names Version
David said to him, How went the matter? Please tell me. He answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Sha'ul and Yonatan his son are dead also.
King James Version
And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
Lexham English Bible
Then David said to him, "How did things go? Please tell me." He answered, "When the army fled from the battle, and many of the people fell; also, Saul and Jonathan his son died."
English Standard Version
And David said to him, "How did it go? Tell me." And he answered, "The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."
New Century Version
David asked him, "What happened? Please tell me!" The man answered, "The people have run away from the battle, and many of them have fallen and are dead. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also."
New English Translation
David inquired, "How were things going? Tell me!" He replied, "The people fled from the battle and many of them fell dead. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!"
Amplified Bible
David said to him, "How did it go? Please tell me." He answered, "The people have fled from the battle. Also, many of the people have fallen and are dead; Saul and Jonathan his son are also dead."
New American Standard Bible
David said to him, "How did things go? Please tell me." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And Dauid saide vnto him, What is done? I pray thee, tell me. Then he said, that the people is fled from the battel, and many of the people are ouerthrowen, and dead, & also Saul and Ionathan his sonne are dead.
Legacy Standard Bible
And David said to him, "How did things go? Tell me now." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."
Contemporary English Version
"Who won the battle?" David asked. The man said, "Our army turned and ran, but many were wounded and died. Even King Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."
Complete Jewish Bible
"Tell me, please, how did things go?" asked David. "The people have fled the battle," he answered, "and many of them are wounded or dead. Sha'ul and Y'honatan his son are dead too."
Darby Translation
And David said to him, What has taken place? I pray thee, tell me. And he said that the people had fled from the battle, and many of the people also had fallen and died, and that Saul and Jonathan his son were dead also.
George Lamsa Translation
And David said to him, What is the news? Tell me. And he answered, The people fled from the battle, and many of them also have fallen; and Saul and Jonathan his son are also dead.
Good News Translation
"Tell me what happened," David said. "Our army ran away from the battle," he replied, "and many of our men were killed. Saul and his son Jonathan were also killed."
Literal Translation
And David said to him, How did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, The people fled from the battle and also a multitude of the people have fallen, and they died, and also Saul and his son Jonathan have died.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Dauid sayde vnto him: Tell me, what is the matter? He sayde: the people is fled from the battayll, and many of the people are fallen: Yee and Saul also is deed and his sonne Ionathas.
American Standard Version
And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
Bible in Basic English
And David said to him, How did things go? Give me the news. And in answer he said, The people have gone in flight from the fight, and a great number of them are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Dauid sayde vnto him: And what is done I pray thee? tell me. He sayde: The people is fled from the battell, and many of the people are ouerthrowen and dead, and Saul and Ionathan his sonne are dead also.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And David said unto him: 'How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me.' And he answered: 'The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.'
King James Version (1611)
And Dauid said vnto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell mee. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battell, and many of the people also are fallen and dead, and Saul and Ionathan his sonne are dead also.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David said to him, What is the matter? tell me. And he said, The people fled out of the battle, and many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead.
English Revised Version
And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
Berean Standard Bible
"What was the outcome?" David asked. "Please tell me." "The troops fled from the battle," he replied. "Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Dauid seide to hym, What is the word which is doon; schewe thou to me. And he seide, The puple fledde fro the batel, and many of the puple felden, and ben deed; but also Saul, and Jonathas, his sonne, perischyden.
Young's Literal Translation
And David saith unto him, `What hath been the matter? declare, I pray thee, to me.' And he saith, that `The people hath fled from the battle, and also a multitude hath fallen of the people, and they die; and also Saul and Jonathan his son have died.'
Update Bible Version
And David said to him, How did it go? I pray you, tell me. And he answered, The people fled from the battle, and many of the people also fell and have died; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
Webster's Bible Translation
And David said to him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen, and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
World English Bible
David said to him, How went the matter? Please tell me. He answered, The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
New King James Version
Then David said to him, "How did the matter go? Please tell me." And he answered, "The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."
New Living Translation
"What happened?" David demanded. "Tell me how the battle went." The man replied, "Our entire army fled from the battle. Many of the men are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."
New Life Bible
David said to him, "How did it go? Tell me." And the man said, "The people have run from the battle. Many have fallen and are dead. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also."
New Revised Standard
David said to him, "How did things go? Tell me!" He answered, "The army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And David said unto him - How turned out the matter? tell me, I pray thee. And he said - The people have fled from the battle, yea moreover, many, of the people have fallen, and died, Yea moreover, Saul, and Jonathan his son, are dead.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And David said unto him: What is the matter that is come to pass? tell me: He said: The people are fled from the battle, and many of the people are fallen and dead: moreover Saul and Jonathan his son are slain.
Revised Standard Version
And David said to him, "How did it go? Tell me." And he answered, "The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead."
THE MESSAGE
"So what happened?" said David. "What's the news?" He said, "The Israelites have fled the battlefield, leaving a lot of their dead comrades behind. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
David said to him, "How did things go? Please tell me." And he said, "The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also."

Contextual Overview

1 After David defeated the Amalekites, he went back to Ziklag. This was just after Saul had been killed. David had been there two days. 2 Then, on the third day, a young soldier from Saul's camp came to Ziklag. His clothes were torn, and he had dirt on his head. He came to David and bowed with his face to the ground. 3 David asked him, "Where have you come from?" The man answered, "I just came from the Israelite camp." 4 David asked him, "Please tell me, who won the battle?" The man answered, "Our people ran away from the battle. Many of them were killed in the battle. Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead." 5 David said to the young soldier, "How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?" 6 The young soldier said, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. I saw Saul leaning on his spear. The Philistine chariots and horse soldiers were coming closer and closer to Saul. 7 Saul looked back and saw me. He called to me and I answered him. 8 Then Saul asked me who I was. I told him that I was an Amalekite. 9 Then Saul said, ‘Please kill me. I am hurt badly. And I am about to die anyway.' 10 He was hurt so badly that I knew he wouldn't live. So I stopped and killed him. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm and brought them here to you, my lord."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

How went: Heb. What was, etc. 1 Samuel 4:16, *marg.

the people: 1 Samuel 31:1-6, 1 Chronicles 10:1-6

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 14:1 - Jonathan 1 Samuel 31:3 - went sore 1 Chronicles 10:3 - went Jeremiah 48:19 - ask

Cross-References

Genesis 1:10
God named the dry land "earth," and he named the water that was gathered together "seas." And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:12
The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:18
He put them in the sky to rule over the day and over the night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:25
So God made every kind of animal. He made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling things. And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:31
God looked at everything he had made. And he saw that everything was very good. There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the sixth day.
Ecclesiastes 2:13
I saw that wisdom is better than foolishness in the same way that light is better than darkness.
Ecclesiastes 11:7
It is good to be alive. It is nice to see the light from the sun.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And David said unto him, how went the matter? I pray thee, tell me,.... That is, how went the battle? on which side the victory?

and he answered, that the people are fled from the battle; meaning the people of Israel, they had given way, and turned their backs upon their enemies, and were fled:

and many of the people also are fallen and dead; fell by the sword in the pursuit of them, and were not only wounded, but were slain, and these great numbers of them:

and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also; which are mentioned last, because they fell some of the last; and this part of the account is reserved by the messenger to the last, because it was the article of the greatest importance; the death of these two persons, the one the enemy, and the other the friend of David, and the death of both made way for his accession to the throne.


 
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