2 Samuel 1:16
in 2 Samuel 1For 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.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain Jehovah’s anointed.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWe know that David went beyond the precepts of the law when, despite Moses' command to pay back one's enemies in kind, he not only did not do this but even embraced his persecutors in love, prayed devoutly to the Lord on their behalf, even wept mournfully for them and revenged them when they were slain.
This site's exposition
David called one of the young men
on 2 Samuel 1:15-16
David orders the execution carried out at once, and the man dies on the strength of his own confession, whether or not that confession was true. Verse 16 states David's ground plainly, thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth hath testified against thee, so the sentence rests on the man's own words and not on proof David could otherwise verify. Amalek's unfinished war closes here on a bitter note, an Amalekite claims the crown of the LORD'S anointed and dies by the very principle that had cost Saul his own kingdom at chapter 15 for sparing Amalek instead of finishing that war.
This site's exposition
Your blood be on your own head
Jerome reads the words as the man made the cause of his own death, and he cites David’s sentence in his commentary on Hosea. The blood of the Amalekite rests on his own head, and David stands clear of it. Albert Barnes calls the sentence just though severe.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Whence his blood will come upon him, that is, he will be the cause of his own death, according to what David says to him who reported to him the death of Saul, and remembered that he had killed the king of Israel: "Your blood be upon your own head" (2 Kings 1:16). Not my opinion, but the blood of Saul (i.e. "Al" for Saul) will be spilled because of your blood.
But when no laws or lawful authorities give command, it is not lawful to kill another, even if he wishes and asks for it and has no longer the strength to live, as is clearly proved by the Scripture in the book of Kings [Samuel], where King David ordered the slayer of King Saul to be put to death, although he said that he had been importuned by the wounded and half-dead king to kill him with one blow and to free his soul struggling with the fetters of the body and longing to be released from those torments.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And David said unto him, thy blood be upon thy head,....
David herein did not do unjustly. For, (1.) The man was an Amalekite. This, lest he should have mistaken it in his narrative, he made him own a second time,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thy blood be upon thy head - If he killed Saul, as he said he did, then he deserved death; at that time it was not known to the contrary, and this man was executed on his own confession.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
David might well think his sentence just though severe, for he had more than once expressed the deliberate opinion that none could lift up his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless (see 1Sa 24:6; 1Sa 26:9, 1Sa 26:11, 1Sa 26:16).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Your blood is on your own head. The responsibility for your death rests on your own head. 13 This is Targum Yonasan’s translation. There is no one to punish for your death but yourself.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָיו֙ | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| דָּמְךָ֖ | dameikha | blood your | H1818 → | 360 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [be] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹאשֶׁ֑ךָ | roshekha | head your | H7218 → | 599 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פִ֗יךָ | fikha | own mouth your | H6310 → | 498 times |
| עָנָ֤ה | ʾanah | it has testified | H6030 → | 331 times |
| בְךָ֙ | vekha | against <the> you | ||
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אָנֹכִ֥י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מֹתַ֖תִּי | motati | I killed | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְשִׁ֥יחַ | meshiach | [the] [one] anointed of | H4899 → | 39 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָיו֙to him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
דָּמְךָ֖blood your
dameikhaH1818 →360 times
עַל־[be] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
רֹאשֶׁ֑ךָhead your
roshekhaH7218 →599 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
פִ֗יךָown mouth your
fikhaH6310 →498 times
עָנָ֤הit has testified
ʾanahH6030 →331 times
בְךָ֙against <the> you
vekha
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אָנֹכִ֥יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מֹתַ֖תִּיI killed
motatiH4191 →839 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מְשִׁ֥יחַ[the] [one] anointed of
meshiachH4899 →39 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 3:19Now 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.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Galatians 3:22–23
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Romans 3:9
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
- Romans 2:12–18
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
- Galatians 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
- Galatians 3:10
Through
Leviticus 20:9If 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.
it leads to
- Exodus 21:17
Anyone who curses his father or mother must surely be put to death.
- Exodus 21:17
Through
Matthew 27:25All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
it leads to
- 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…
- Acts 5:28
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.”
- Joshua 2:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, LETTER 204; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 3.12; Jerome, COMMENTARY ON HOSEA 3.12; John Cassian, CONFERENCE 21.4.2; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.