2 Samuel 1:2
New International Version
On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.

New Living Translation
On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s army camp. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show that he was in mourning. He fell to the ground before David in deep respect.

English Standard Version
And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

Berean Standard Bible
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.

King James Bible
It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

New King James Version
on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

New American Standard Bible
And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

NASB 1995
On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

NASB 1977
And it happened on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened that on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul. And his clothes were torn and dust was on his head. And it happened when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.

Amplified Bible
On the third day a man came [unexpectedly] from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head [as in mourning]. When he came to David, he bowed to the ground and lay himself face down [in an act of great respect and submission].

Christian Standard Bible
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head came from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head came from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

American Standard Version
it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And it was on the third day, and behold a man came from the camp from the presence of Shaul; his clothes were ripped and there was dirt on his head, and it was that when he came to David, he fell on the ground and he bowed to him

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came from the camp, from the people of Saul, and his garments were rent, and earth was upon his head: and it came to pass when he went in to David, that he fell upon the earth, and did obeisance to him.

Contemporary English Version
Three days later, a soldier came from Saul's army. His clothes were torn, and dirt was on his head. He went to David and knelt down in front of him.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And on the third day, there appeared a man who came out of Saul's camp, with his garments rent, and dust strewed on his head: and when he came to David, he fell upon his face, and adored.

English Revised Version
it came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
On the third day a man came from Saul's camp. His clothes were torn, and he had dirt on his head. When he came to David, he immediately bowed down with his face touching the ground.

Good News Translation
The next day a young man arrived from Saul's camp. To show his grief, he had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head. He went to David and bowed to the ground in respect.

International Standard Version
The next day, a man escaped from Saul's camp! With torn clothes and dirty hair, he approached David, fell to the ground, and bowed down to him.

JPS Tanakh 1917
it came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head; and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and prostrated himself.

Literal Standard Version
and it comes to pass, on the third day, that behold, a man has come in out of the camp from Saul, and his garments [are] torn, and earth [is] on his head; and it comes to pass in his coming to David, that he falls to the earth and pays respect.

Majority Standard Bible
On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.

New American Bible
On the third day a man came from the field of battle, one of Saul’s people, with his garments torn and his head covered with dirt. Going to David, he fell to the ground in homage.

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

New Revised Standard Version
On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance.

New Heart English Bible
It happened on the third day, that, look, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and paid homage.

Webster's Bible Translation
It came even to pass on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

World English Bible
on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the earth and showed respect.

Young's Literal Translation
and it cometh to pass, on the third day, that lo, a man hath come in out of the camp from Saul, and his garments are rent, and earth on his head; and it cometh to pass, in his coming in unto David, that he falleth to the earth, and doth obeisance.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
David Learns of Saul's Death
1After the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. 2 On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage. 3“Where have you come from?” David asked. “I have escaped from the Israelite camp,” he replied.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 4:12
That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

1 Samuel 25:23
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.

2 Samuel 1:3
"Where have you come from?" David asked. "I have escaped from the Israelite camp," he replied.

2 Samuel 4:10
when someone told me, 'Look, Saul is dead,' and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!

Ezekiel 27:30
They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.


Treasury of Scripture

It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth on his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.

the third

Genesis 22:4
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

Esther 4:16
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Esther 5:1
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king's house, over against the king's house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

a man

2 Samuel 4:10
When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:

clothes

Genesis 37:29,34
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes…

Joshua 7:6
And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.

1 Samuel 4:12,16
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head…

and earth

2 Samuel 15:32
And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head:

1 Samuel 4:12
And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his head.

he fell

2 Samuel 14:4
And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.

Genesis 37:7-10
For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf…

Genesis 43:28
And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.

Jump to Previous
Arrived Camp Clothes Clothing David Dust Earth Fell Ground Head Obeisance Order Pay Prostrated Rent Saul Saul's Tents Third Torn
Jump to Next
Arrived Camp Clothes Clothing David Dust Earth Fell Ground Head Obeisance Order Pay Prostrated Rent Saul Saul's Tents Third Torn
2 Samuel 1
1. The Amalekite who accused himself of Saul's death is slain
17. David laments Saul and Jonathan with a song














(2) On the third day--viz., after David's return, not the third day after Saul's death.

Did obeisance.--The following verses show that this was not merely an act of Oriental respect, but was intended as a recognition of David's rank as having now become king. The messenger, although an Amalekite (2Samuel 1:8; 2Samuel 1:13), had earth upon his head and his clothes rent as marks of sorrow for the defeat of David's people, and the death of their king.

Verse 2. - On the third day. This means the third day after David's return with the spoil and captives recovered from the Amalekites. If we study the data, we find that David had marched with Achish as far as Aphek in the plain of Jezreel (1 Samuel 29:1), opposite to which, on the rising ground near Gilboa, Saul had posted his army. A march of three days had brought him back to Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:1), and after the shortest possible delay he had started in pursuit of the Amalekites. The rapidity of his movements is proved by so large a proportion of his hardy men falling out of the ranks at the brook Besor; but nevertheless some time must have been lost at Ziklag in discovering the greatness of their disaster, in searching for any who might possibly have escaped, in getting food, and in mustering again together for the pursuit. Near the brook they seem to have found the Egyptian slave who became their guide, and who had been abandoned three days before David found him. It follows, therefore, that the Amalekites were then three days' march in advance, and however rapidly the pursuit was urged on, we cannot allow less than five days for it, and one for the battle (vers. 12, 13, 17). The march homeward would take a longer time, as David was now encumbered with flocks and herds, women and children. If it took eight days, the time occupied in it by the Amalekites, the whole period that had elapsed since David was sent away from Aphek by the Philistine lords would be eighteen or nineteen days; and it is thus evident that the Amalekites were plundering Ziklag at the very time when he was being dismissed, half angry, half rejoicing, at the slight put upon him, but little thinking of the sad need there was for his presence elsewhere. Now, the messenger from Gilboa, if an active runner, weald easily traverse in two days the distance which David and his men had travelled in three. And thus it follows that the battle at Gilboa was fought on the very day of David's happy return from the pursuit, and about nineteen days after the review at Aphek. If the word "tomorrow" in 1 Samuel 28:19 seems to imply a more rapid march of events, we must remember that the meaning of the word in Hebrew is more indefinite than with us (comp. Genesis 30:33; Exodus 13:14). With his clothes rent, and earth upon his head. Though the Amalekite came out of the camp, yet we are not to suppose that he had been one of the combatants. Every army is followed by a vast number of vagabonds, intent upon gain, purchasing of the troops their booty, plundering wherever they have the chance, and carrying on a lucrative but illicit trade. He was more probably a sort of gipsy sutler than, as many suppose, the slave of some Israelite. He professes, however, to be upon Israel's side, and appears with the usual marks of sorrow. By so doing he hoped to commend himself to David, whom he knew to be too patriotic to rejoice at the defeat of his countrymen, though he doubted not that he would hear with joy of the death of so inveterate a personal enemy as Saul. On this account, and because the way would now stand open to David's ambition, he evidently felt sure of receiving a large guerdon for his news. There is, moreover, a further interest in his conduct; for it demonstrates the existence of a widespread popular feeling that David was destined to be Israel's king. It was this conviction which made him give David kingly honour; for he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. And all Israel, on the morrow after the defeat, would probably have done the same, but for David's own conduct. Israel was too high-spirited a nation to take at once for a king a man who had marched with their enemies to fight against them, even though they knew that the voice of prophecy had appointed him to inherit Saul's throne.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
On the third
הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י (haš·šə·lî·šî)
Article | Number - ordinal masculine singular
Strong's 7992: Third, feminine a, third, a third, a third-story cell)

day
בַּיּ֣וֹם (bay·yō·wm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3117: A day

a man
אִ֨ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

with torn
קְרֻעִ֔ים (qə·ru·‘îm)
Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - masculine plural
Strong's 7167: To rend

clothes
וּבְגָדָ֣יו (ū·ḇə·ḡā·ḏāw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 899: A covering, clothing, treachery, pillage

and dust
וַאֲדָמָ֖ה (wa·’ă·ḏā·māh)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 127: Ground, land

on
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

his head
רֹאשׁ֑וֹ (rō·šōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7218: The head

arrived
בָּ֤א (bā)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

Saul’s
שָׁא֔וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

camp.
הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙ (ham·ma·ḥă·neh)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 4264: An encampment, an army

When he came
בְּבֹא֣וֹ (bə·ḇō·’ōw)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

David,
דָּוִ֔ד (dā·wiḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

he fell
וַיִּפֹּ֥ל (way·yip·pōl)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5307: To fall, lie

to the ground
אַ֖רְצָה (’ar·ṣāh)
Noun - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

to pay him homage.
וַיִּשְׁתָּֽחוּ׃ (way·yiš·tā·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hitpael - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7812: To depress, prostrate


Links
2 Samuel 1:2 NIV
2 Samuel 1:2 NLT
2 Samuel 1:2 ESV
2 Samuel 1:2 NASB
2 Samuel 1:2 KJV

2 Samuel 1:2 BibleApps.com
2 Samuel 1:2 Biblia Paralela
2 Samuel 1:2 Chinese Bible
2 Samuel 1:2 French Bible
2 Samuel 1:2 Catholic Bible

OT History: 2 Samuel 1:2 It happened on the third day that (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 1:1
Top of Page
Top of Page