Translations
Modern
Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
Traditional
He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.
Literal
And he said to me, ‘Stand, please, over me and kill me, for the anguish has seized me, but all my life is in me still.’
Latin
Et locutus est mihi: Sta super me, et interfice me: quoniam tenent me angustiæ, et adhuc tota anima mea in me est.
Original
Hebrew
English
Then he begged me, ‘Stand over me and kill me, for agony has seized me, but my life still lingers.’
Notes
Then he begged me: This is the Amalekite’s third lie. Saul was probably already dead (see 1 Samuel 31:4–6).
An unnamed Amalekite went to David, claiming that he had killed Saul. This claim was false. Saul had taken his own life(1 Samuel 31:4–6).
The Amalekite may have hoped that David would reward him for clearing the way for David to become king. Instead, David ordered him to be killed for harming the Lord’s anointed (the person God had chosen).
The forty years of Saul’s reign ended in tragedy. The Philistines struck a devastating blow against his people. They killed Saul’s sons and later mutilated Saul’s body after he took his own life (1 Samuel 31). After these tragic events, the story begins to focus on David and his rise as a leader.
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